Research
Below are some examples of my research.
Academic research
ESG positioning in private infrastructure fundraising
with Min Park, Monika Tarsalewska & Grzegorz Trojanowski.
Abstract: We examine if environmental, social and governance (ESG) positioning by private equity infrastructure funds affects fundraising success. We use novel hand-collected data from a proprietary sample of fund marketing documents. By adapting methodologies from the extant literature on private equity fundraising, we directly address the fundraising event rather than the time between successor funds. Our results from private equity infrastructure fundraising events between 2006 and 2021 indicate that ESG positioning in fund marketing documents does not have a significant impact on fundraising success. This is an important finding as it suggests that investors do not respond to ESG-related claims in marketing materials at the fund level. However, there is some evidence of a weak positive relationship between ESG positioning and fundraising success that we observe in the earlier sample period that has dissipated in more recent years. This might be explained by firms trying to materialize value from “cheap-talk” due to first mover advantage.
International Review of Financial Analysis, Volume 90, 2023, 102924, ISSN 1057-5219,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102924.(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057521923004404)
Industry research
Bad Assets and Bad Owners?
Should we be sounding the alarm on PE ownership of dirty assets?
Executive Summary
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Concerns have been raised that the sale of polluting power plants to private equity funds, not subject to public reporting requirements, has an adverse environmental impact
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However, lack of public reporting obligations does not equate to lack of scrutiny, as large investors have a well-documented interest in good ESG practices
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The academic literature does support the hypothesis that publicly listed owners of polluting assets seek to divest these to appease shareholder pressure, and that such assets are likely to land in the hands of less transparent owners
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Importantly, sales to private equity ownership are not associated with detrimental environmental outcomes