Call For Papers: Groundbreaking Responsible Investing Study Sought For 2014 Moskowitz Prize Recognition

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. and BERKELEY, Calif., April 28, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Center for Responsible Business at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business (Berkeley-Haas) has announced a call for papers for the 19th annual Moskowitz Prize—the only global award recognizing outstanding academic research in the field of sustainable, responsible, impact (SRI) investing.

The Moskowitz Prize is awarded annually by the Center for Responsible Business. The only global award recognizing outstanding quantitative research in the field of sustainable and responsible investing, the prize was named for Milton Moskowitz, one of the first investigators to publish comparisons of the financial performance of screened and unscreened portfolios.

Since its inception in 1996, the Moskowitz Prize has been awarded annually at The SRI Conference, the largest and longest running conference serving investors and investment professionals in the sustainable, responsible, impact (SRI) investment industry in North America.  The SRI Conference is produced by First Affirmative Financial Network.  The author of this year's prize-winning study will be notified in September and publicly announced at the momentus 25th annual SRI Conference, November 9-11, 2014, in Colorado Springs, CO, where the winner will present the findings and be honored at a Conference reception.

Both Berkeley-Haas and The SRI Conference acknowledge and appreciate the 2014 Moskowitz Prize sponsors: Calvert Investments, First Affirmative Financial Network, Nelson Capital Management, Neuberger Berman, Rockefeller and Co., and Trillium Asset Management Company.

DEADLINE FOR CONSIDERATION:  Studies to be reviewed for consideration must be submitted by June 30, 2014.  The $5,000 prize competition is open to authors of studies relevant to responsible investing.  Studies may be published or unpublished, but unpublished studies should be of a quality appropriate for publication in a peer-reviewed academic journal. Details about the submission process can be found at: http://responsiblebusiness.haas.berkeley.edu/programs/moskowitzresearchprogram.html.  

Entries are reviewed by an independent jury of scholars and investment professionals.  The prize winner is determined based on practical significance to responsible investment practitioners, appropriateness and rigor of quantitative methods, and novelty of results.

2013 MOSKOWITZ PRIZE:  In 2013, the Moskowitz Prize was awarded to Caroline Flammer, Ph.D., and assistant professor in general management at Ivey Business School at Western University in London, Ontario for a paper titled, "Does Corporate Social Responsibility Lead to Superior Financial Performance? A Regression Discontinuity Approach."  See paper here: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2146282.  

In her winning paper, Flammer found that corporate financial performance improved sharply in the immediate wake of shareholder-sponsored CSR proposals that were "close calls" – those passing by a small margin of votes. Studying close call proposals is appealing since the outcome of the vote is as good as randomized and cannot be anticipated prior to the vote.

About the Berkeley-Haas Center for Responsible Business

Building on over a decade of research, teaching and industry engagement, the Center for Responsible Business (http://responsiblebusiness.haas.berkeley.edu) is an "action tank" that brings together students, company leaders, and faculty to redefine business for a sustainable future.  The Center for Responsible Business is a key contributor to Berkeley-Haas (http://www.haas.berkeley.edu) recently being recognized by the Financial Times as the #1 globally ranked MBA program in corporate social responsibility.

About The SRI Conference

The 25th annual SRI Conference (http://www.SRIconference.com), the leading North American forum for investors and investment professionals involved in sustainable, responsible, impact (SRI) investing, is November 9-11, 2014 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado (http://www.broadmoor.com/). For more information about the conference or about supporting the conference as a sponsor, please contact Krystala Kalil, at 888-774-2663 or [email protected].

Conference participation is open to all SRI industry practitioners, investment professionals, institutional investors, and related organizations and individuals. The conference experience features an outstanding series of educational sessions and a focused opportunity to network with hundreds of like-minded individuals, organizations, and leaders in the field.

About First Affirmative Financial Network

First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC (http://www.firstaffirmative.com) is an independent Registered Investment Advisor (SEC File #801-56587) offering investment consulting and asset management services through a nationwide network of investment professionals who specialize in serving socially conscious investors. First Affirmative produces the annual SRI Conference (http://www.SRIconference.com).

SOURCE First Affirmative Financial Network and The 25th Annual SRI Conference, Colorado Springs