PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Zoltán Nagy AU - Altaf Kassam AU - Linda-Eling Lee ED - Saklatvala, Kathryn TI - Practical Applications of Can ESG Add Alpha? <em>An Analysis of ESG Tilt and Momentum Strategies</em> AID - 10.3905/pa.2016.4.3.205 DP - 2017 Jan 31 TA - Practical Applications PG - 1--5 VI - 4 IP - 3 4099 - https://pm-research.com/content/4/3/1.7.short 4100 - https://pm-research.com/content/4/3/1.7.full AB - Can ESG Add Alpha? An Analysis of ESG Tilt and Momentum Strategies Zoltán Nagy Altaf Kassam Linda-Eling Lee Institutional investors have generally assumed that incorporating ESG into portfolio construction entails a hit to performance, but new research shows that’s not necessarily so.In Can ESG Add Alpha? An Analysis of ESG Tilt and Momentum Strategies , authors Zoltán Nagy ( MSCI ), Altaf Kassam ( State Street Global Advisors ) and Linda-Eling Lee (MSCI), backtest two model portfolios—ESG Tilt and ESG Momentum—and find they outperform the MSCI World Index benchmark.“Over time, approaches [have] developed where you could break even. But there’s still a nagging feeling in the industry that you can’t have your cake and eat it too,” notes Kassam. But they’re confident their more-robust data proves that trade-offs between ESG and performance aren’t inevitable.