EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SHARES PORTFOLIO OF SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE COMPANIES IN THE WIG-ESG INDEX

Dr Anna Kijanka, Katarzyna Król

The article presents a study of the effectiveness of a portfolio of shares of socially responsible companies from the WIG-ESG index against the background of selected investment benchmarks. The study found that the WIG-ESG index achieved results that did not differ significantly from the performance of the broad market portfolio of the Polish stock exchange. Investments in an index of companies with high ESG standards were characterized by lower volatility of rates of return than indices of sectors with high environmental risk. Although no clear advantage of the WIG-ESG index in terms of the achieved rates of return was observed, the relatively high effectiveness of the index does not justify the decision to eliminate it. The need was identified to create indices that adequately promote companies that adhere to the principles of sustainable development and develop performance measures that consider ethical aspects.