This study examines the effectiveness of portfolios created by picking stocks from the S&P 500 universe based on their ESG scores and sector categorization. The portfolios are made up of stocks that are given equal weights, and their performance is compared to a benchmark portfolio consisting of all the securities in the S&P 500 universe with equal weights. The research employs data from Yahoo Finance and Datahub to explore the connection between ESG scores and sector performance and to evaluate the impact of different strategies for selecting stocks on portfolio performance. In essence, the paper investigates how the combination of sector classification and ESG scoring influences the performance of investment portfolios. By analyzing these factors, the research aims to provide insight into how investors can optimize their portfolios to achieve the best possible returns while taking into account environmental, social, and governance factors.

Pinxuan He, Kun Hu, Siyuan Nie, Zheng Tao, Jiangshan Zhu. Stock Selection and Portfolio Performance Based on ESG Scores. Academic Journal of Business & Management (2023) Vol. 5, Issue 11: 9-15. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJBM.2023.051102.

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