Scientific Portfolio (an EDHEC Venture)
Scientific Portfolio is a new FinTech venture originated from EDHEC Business School’s applied research ecosystem. Its mission is to help investors independently analyze and construct equity portfolios. In line with EDHEC’s positioning on “impact research”, Scientific Portfolio conducts and shares research outputs in finance that support the design of an integrated framework where financial and extra-financial (ESG) considerations are jointly captured in portfolio analysis and construction.
« Among institutional asset owners and wealth managers, there is a growing need to assume full control of their investment policy, and an exponential demand for customization linked to the advent of ESG. Asset Managers and investment solutions providers on the other hand lack comprehensive tools to nourish an informed dialogue with their clients. Scientific Portfolio (an EDHEC Venture) has been incubated in EDHEC’s rich ecosystem to explore and deliver research-driven solutions for equity investors... and is now ready to take the field! »
Benjamin Herzog, CEO, Scientific Portfolio (an EDHEC Venture)
A VENTURE EMBEDDED IN EDHEC'S FINANCIAL ECOSYSTEM
Scientific Portfolio (an EDHEC Venture) aims to bridge the gap between academic finance and the investment management industry, in line with EDHEC's impactful academic heritage and entrepreneurial approach.
At EDHEC, finance is a focal point. Over two decades, EDHEC-Risk Institute (ERI) has produced world-class academic research and collaborated with industry leaders on initiatives addressing aging populations, digital shifts, and climate challenges. Its transform into EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute in 2022, backed by a €20 million budget, showcases EDHEC’s leadership in the field.
In recent years, this ecosystem has facilitated the launch of numerous applied scientific startups. The most recent among them is Scientific Infra & Private Assets, which serves investors managing private equity and infrastructure assets.
The EDHEC ecosystem has also incubated Scientific Portfolio (an EDHEC Venture), inspired by the success of the previous startups, and based on the observation that research, technology and pedagogy are needed to:
- address the growing demand for customized climate and sustainable investing;
- and design a coherent framework that supports the pursuit of both financial and extra-financial investment objectives.
- To learn more about Scientific Portfolio (an EDHEC Venture): please visit their website at https://scientificportfolio.com/
INVESTMENT PHILOSOPHY
Scientific Portfolio's portfolio analysis and construction philosophy is rooted in academically validated principles of factor investing and integrating finance and sustainability within an intuitive framework.
In that sense, its investment philosophy is comprised of three pillars:
Finance
The financial pillar promotes looking beyond securities allocation to examine systematic factor exposures and favors rewarded sources of risk that are expected to generate excess returns in the long term while controlling or diversifying away unrewarded ones.
Sustainability
The sustainability pillar is based on the concept that sustainability begins with "doing no harm" and is implemented in alignment with the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Put Together
The third pillar brings the first two pillars together, first acknowledging that risk originating from ESG sources is yet another financial risk and should be integrated into the existing risk framework. Additionally, ESG and financial considerations can be combined once priorities are established, with one acting as the objective and the other acting as the constraint.
VIDEO PRESENTATION
SCIENTIFIC PORTFOLIO (AN EDHEC VENTURE) RESEARCH CONTRIBUTORS
- Benjamin Herzog - Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
ESG Research Team
- Vincent Bouchet – ESG Director
- Thomas Lorans – Deputy Head of ESG Research
- Aurore Porteu de La Morandière – ESG Researcher
- Julien Priol – ESG Researcher
Finance Research Team
- Matteo Bagnara – Quantitative Researcher
- Benoit Vaucher – Head of Research
Business Development
- Jenna Jones – Senior Product Specialist
- Shahyar Safaee – Deputy CEO and Business Development Director
PUBLICATIONS
Do Exclusions Have an Effect on the Risk Profile of Equity Portfolios?
September 2024, Scientific Portfolio Publication - V. Bouchet, A. Porteu de La Morandière, B. Vaucher
The paper analyzes three exclusion levels and their impact on risks: basic ESG criteria, an expanded climate-focused screen, and a strict filter aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals. Results indicate that the first two filters have minimal effect on index risks, especially when optimized reallocation is applied...
- Read the reference paper
- Read the associated EDHEC Vox - From Exclusions to Returns: Evaluating the Financial Risks of Responsible Investing
Do Climate-Related Exclusions Have an Effect on Portfolio Risk and Diversification? A Contribution to the Article 9 Funds Controversy
May 2024, Scientific Portfolio Publication - V. Bouchet, A. Porteu de La Morandière, B. Vaucher
Despite regulatory efforts to enhance consistency, the increase in funds claiming to be sustainable has led to polemics about some of the funds’ stock holdings having a negative impact on climate change...
- Read the reference paper
- Read the associated EDHEC Vox - “Dark green” equity funds could go “full green” with very limited impact on their risk profile
Institutional Equity Portfolios: How Can Asset Owners Build Coherent Sustainable Strategies?
March 2024, The Journal of Impact and ESG Investing (forthcoming) - V. Bouchet, S. Safaee
The number of equity funds claiming to be sustainable continues to grow, as well as the regulatory transparency requirements they face. Despite this trend, sustainable finance is facing a double “identity crisis”...
Decomposition of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Associated With an Equity Portfolio
October 2023, The Journal of Impact and ESG Investing - V. Bouchet
While methodologies to measure the alignment of a financial portfolio with climate objectives develop rapidly, historical and cross-sectional analysis of greenhouse gas emissions associated with a portfolio has received little attention...
Look Up! A Market-measure of the Long-term Transition Risks in Equity Portfolios
October 2023, The Journal of Impact and ESG Investing - V. Bouchet, B. Herzog, B. Vaucher
The transition to a low-carbon economy generates new regulatory, technological, market and reputational risks for the financial sector. These climate-transition risks are mainly analyzed by portfolio managers through bottom-up fundamental approaches...
The Perceived Advantages of Self-Indexing for Institutional Equity Investors
July 2023, The Journal of Beta Investment Strategies - B. Herzog, J. Jones, S. Safaee
Institutional asset owners increasingly seek to customize index-linked strategies in order to take their ESG and climate preferences into consideration. This trend away from cap-weighted benchmarks does, however, bring forth challenges for asset owners...
Remember to Diversify Your Active Risk: Evidence from US Equity ETFs
March 2023, The Journal of Beta Investment Strategies - B. Herzog, J. Jones, S. Safaee
In this article, the authors estimate the level of risk diversification for a universe of US equity ETFs and observe the benefits of diversification for budgeting of active risk relative to a cap-weighted benchmark...
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