Sin stocks in self managed superannuation funds

Phillips, Peter J. (2011) Sin stocks in self managed superannuation funds. Australasian Accounting Business and Finance Journal, 5 (2). pp. 39-51. ISSN 1834-2000

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Abstract

Ethical or responsible investing has attracted much attention over the last decade. Financial planners can now advise clients on a broad range of ethical investment products and some financial planning firms have this as their sole activity. Interestingly, the alter ego of ethical investing, sin or vice investing, has attracted far less attention. Recent research shows that 'sinful' investments can generate very strong returns and should certainly not be avoided by investors without a full evaluation of the consequences of excluding these investments from the portfolio. This paper extends these findings into the field of self managed superannuation funds operating within an Australian context. The prevalence of sinful investments within a sample of SMSFs and the returns that may be generated by a portfolio consisting of sinful Australian equities is examined. Analysis reveals that the SMSF investors within the sample do not include very many sin stocks in their portfolios. However, it does not appear as though SMSF trustees are missing an important investment opportunity because the analysis reveals that an equally-weighted portfolio of all vice or sin shares is unlikely to generate superior returns.

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Item Type:	Article (Commonwealth Reporting Category C)
Refereed:	Yes
Item Status:	Live Archive
Additional Information:	Authors retain copyright. Copyright ©2011 Australasian Accounting Business and Finance Journal and Authors.
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre:	Historic - Faculty of Business and Law - School of Accounting, Economics and Finance (1 Jan 2011 - 30 Jun 2013)
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre:	Historic - Faculty of Business and Law - School of Accounting, Economics and Finance (1 Jan 2011 - 30 Jun 2013)
Date Deposited:	25 Jul 2011 07:52
Last Modified:	25 Aug 2014 03:03
Uncontrolled Keywords:	self managed superannuation funds, sin stocks, ethical investment, financial planning
Fields of Research (2008):	14 Economics > 1402 Applied Economics > 140207 Financial Economics
Socio-Economic Objectives (2008):	E Expanding Knowledge > 97 Expanding Knowledge > 970114 Expanding Knowledge in Economics
URI:	http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/19296

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