Investissements socialement responsables : de la prime de risque à la création de valeur pour les investisseurs

Cette thèse traite de l’investissement socialement responsable (ISR) à travers la relation entre responsabilité sociétale des entreprises (RSE) et performance financière. La recherche présentée est structurée en deux sections et quatre chapitres qui répondent chacun à des questions distinctes. Pris ensemble, ces chapitres contribuent à un objectif unique, à savoir, comprendre si l’ISR est rentable pour les investisseurs. La première section se compose de deux chapitres qui examinent la prime de risque RSE respectivement dans les marchés actions développés (Chapitre 1) et les marchés émergents (Chapitre 2). Nos résultats montrent que les rendements anormaux de la prime de risque RSE sont dépendants du niveau d'attention des investisseurs pour la RSE et de la taille des entreprises. Nous soutenons ainsi que la relation entre RSE et performance financière est initialement positive, comme cela a été obtenu sur les marchés émergents et dans la partition des petites entreprises des pays développés. Toutefois, la croissance exponentielle des actifs ISR dans les pays développés à contribuer à rendre le marché plus efficient quant à la RSE et ainsi la prime de risque n’est plus significative, comme obtenu dans la partition des grandes entreprises. Dans la deuxième section, cette thèse s’intéresse aux mécanismes de création de valeur pour les investisseurs responsables. Les deux chapitres qui forment cette section examinent respectivement l’effet du filtrage RSE sur les portefeuilles ISR (Chapitre 3) et l’impact de la matérialité sur la relation entre performance climatique et financière (Chapitre 4). Nous montrons dans le troisième chapitre que la relation entre filtrage RSE et rentabilités ajustées au risque du portefeuille est de type curvilinéaire. Ainsi, l’exclusion d’entreprises sur la base de critères RSE est bénéfique jusqu’à ce que l’impact sur la diversification financière ne l’emporte. Dans le dernier chapitre, nos résultats suggèrent que l’impact de performance climatique sur la performance financière des entreprises est modéré par l'horizon d'investissement et la matérialité des considérations climatique au sein des industries. En effet, la performance climatique n’a pas d’effet significatif sur la rentabilité à court terme. A long terme, la performance climatique a un impact sur la performance financière uniquement pour les entreprises ayant une activité intense en carbone.This thesis examines socially responsible investing (SRI) through the lens of the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance. The research presented is structured into two sections and four chapters, each of which addresses distinct questions. Taken together, these chapters contribute to a single objective, namely, to understand whether SRI is profitable for investors. The first section consists of two chapters that examine the CSR risk premium in developed equity markets (Chapter 1) and emerging markets (Chapter 2), respectively. Our results show that abnormal returns of the CSR risk premium are contingent upon the level of investor attention to CSR and on firm size. We thus argue that the relationship between CSR and financial performance is initially positive, as obtained in emerging markets and in the partition of small firms in developed countries. However, the exponential growth of SRI assets in developed countries has contributed to make the market more efficient with respect to CSR and thus the risk premium is no longer significant, as obtained in the large firm partition. In the second section, this thesis focuses on the mechanisms of value creation for responsible investors. The two chapters that make up this section examine respectively the effect of CSR filtering on SRI portfolios (Chapter 3) and the impact of materiality on the relationship between climate and financial performance (Chapter 4). We show in the third chapter that the relationship between CSR filtering and portfolio risk-adjusted returns is curvilinear. Thus, excluding companies based on CSR criteria is beneficial until the impact on financial diversification prevails. In the last chapter, our results suggest that the impact of climate performance on companies' financial performance is moderated by the investment horizon and the materiality of climate considerations within industries. Indeed, climate performance does n ot have a significant effect on profitability in the short term. In the long term, climate performance has an impact on financial performance solely for carbon-intensive companies

Une meilleure rémunération des mineurs : un effet positif sur la performance financière des cryptomonnaies

International audienceTo cope with the weakened financial system, the innovative ecosystem of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain seem to emerge as alternative solutions. While they offer a decentralized governance, cryptocurrencies also provide exposure to social dimensions. We thus pose the following research question: is there a virtuous circle between extra-financial and financial performance for cryptocurrencies? To answer this question, we analyze the social performance, an extra-financial dimension, through miners’ compensation. Using a sample of cryptocurrencies between 2015 and 2021, we follow two econometric modeling approaches, namely portfolios constituted based on miner compensation and a panel regression model. This dual approach allows an analysis of the relationship at the macro and microeconomic level as well as enhancing the robustness of our inferences. Our results show that the social and financial performance relationship is positive. Thus, enhanced value sharing in the cryptocurrency landscape appears synonymous of greater financial performance.Pour faire face au système financier fragilisé, l’écosystème innovant des cryptomonnaies et de la blockchain semble être une alternative. En plusd’une gouvernance décentralisée, les cryptomonnaies offrent une exposition aux dimensions sociales. Nous posons ainsi la question suivante :existe-t-il un cercle vertueux entre performance extra-financière et financière pour les cryptomonnaies ? Nous analysons ainsi la performancesociale, une dimension extra-financière, à travers la rémunération des mineurs. En utilisant un échantillon de cryptomonnaies entre 2015et 2021, nous réalisons une analyse de portefeuille constitué en fonction de la rémunération des mineurs et utilisons un modèle en données de panel.Cette double approche permet d’étudier la relation à l’échelle macro et microéconomique, renforçant la robustesse des inférences. Nos résultats montrent que la relation performance sociale et boursière est positive. Ainsi, un partage de la valeur ajoutée accrue pour une cryptomonnaiesemble être synonyme de performance financière plus élevée

Short- and long-term effects of responsible investment growth on equity returns

Purpose The growth of socially responsible assets has been exponential over the last decade, they now account for almost a third of professional investments. As the growth persists, faith and conviction investors reshape the equity markets. To fully comprehend the impact of socially conscious participants on security returns, this paper attempts to provide insights on how responsible investment growth has impacted the returns of sustainable stocks. The examination is split by investment horizon to account for short and long effects. Design/methodology/approach Using an exclusive dataset of non-financial ratings, provided by MSCI ESG research, the authors examine the cross-sectional returns of US and European sustainability-leading and lagging corporations between 2007 and 2019. Panel models robust to country, firm-year and industry effects were then employed to examine the impact of responsible investment growth on future stock returns. Findings The authors find evidence that the impact of responsible investment growth is dual contingent upon the timeframe considered. In the short run, sustainability-leading and lagging firms display similar stock returns. However, the spread in returns is negative over long horizons and increasing over time. Originality/value The examination performed in this study highlights the significant effect of responsible investment growth on future stock returns. Overall, the authors’ findings are consistent with the price pressure hypothesis in the short run and the cost of capital alteration over longer horizons

Metabolic reprogramming by Zika virus provokes inflammation in human placenta

International audienceThe recent outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) was associated with birth defects and pregnancy loss when maternal infection occurs in early pregnancy, but specific mechanisms driving placental insufficiency and subsequent ZIKV-mediated pathogenesis remain unclear. Here we show, using large scale metabolomics, that ZIKV infection reprograms placental lipidome by impairing the lipogenesis pathways. ZIKV-induced metabolic alterations provide building blocks for lipid droplet biogenesis and intracellular membrane rearrangements to support viral replication. Furthermore, lipidome reprogramming by ZIKV is paralleled by the mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammatory immune imbalance, which contribute to placental damage. In addition, we demonstrate the efficacy of a commercially available inhibitor in limiting ZIKV infection, provides a proof-of-concept for blocking congenital infection by targeting metabolic pathways. Collectively, our study provides mechanistic insights on how ZIKV targets essential hubs of the lipid metabolism that may lead to placental dysfunction and loss of barrier function

Extracellular Vesicles Released by Allogeneic Human Cardiac Stem/Progenitor Cells as Part of their Therapeutic Benefit

International audienc

A reverse transcription-nested PCR assay for HHV-6 mRNA early transcript detection after transplantation.

International audienceMonitoring of human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) reactivation is important, especially in immunocompromised patients such as transplant recipients. Reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) is a useful method to distinguish between latent and active infection. Here, a RT-nested PCR coupled with a colorimetric plate hybridization assay was established to detect HHV-6 types A and B U79/80 mRNAs. After confirming the reliability of the assay on HHV-6 cultures, it was applied to the detection of HHV-6 reactivation after renal (27 patients), bone marrow (14 patients) or heart (7 patients) transplantation. A total of 206 blood samples were tested from renal (137), bone marrow (58) and heart (11) transplant recipients. U79/80 mRNAs were found in 32 samples that were considered as indicative of HHV-6 reactivation: 15, 13 and 5 from kidney, bone marrow and heart transplant recipients, respectively. Finally, U79/80 mRNA detection was correlated with clinical manifestations including leucopenia, skin rash, graft rejection or dysfunction and diarrhoea

Multiplex real-time PCR assay for simultaneous quantitation of human cytomegalovirus and herpesvirus-6 in polymorphonuclear and mononuclear cells of transplant recipients.

International audienceHuman cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) are two closely related viruses, which belong to the Herpesviridae family. Following primary infection, they are thought to persist for life as latent forms in mononuclear cells. HCMV and HHV-6 can cause considerable morbidity in immunocompromised individuals, such as transplant patients. A sensitive and specific LightCycler multiplex real-time PCR assay based on fluorescence energy transfer (known as FRET) was developed. This assay, by using two sets of hybridization probes specific for HHV-6 (A and B) and HCMV, can differentiate reliably and quantify simultaneously both viruses in order to diagnose reactivation processes. The assay was optimized and the lower limit of detection for both viruses was determined to be 10 viral genome copies per reaction. Both viruses were quantified in 83 peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and 87 polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) collected from 32 transplant recipients. This multiplex real-time quantitative PCR was finally compared with two other quantitation and detection assays used daily in laboratory (PCR DIG detection and antigenemia for HCMV, TaqMan Assay for HHV-6). This technique can be useful for the differentiation and quantitation of HCMV and HHV-6 for monitoring transplant patients