Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Socially responsible investments (SRI) have become increasingly popular these last years in the banking sector. However, it is still quite difficult to determine what this market will look like in the future and which are the major issues that will impact it.

The purpose of this study is to focus on retail investors and provide a clearer view of what the Belgian SRI banking market will look like by 2030. To that end, we will attempt to provide answers to questions such as: How is the Belgian SRI banking market going to evolve in the future? Which investors are typically going to be interested in SRI? What are the main challenges that the market faces?

In order to conduct this research, we firstly carried out an inventory of scientific researches that had been made on the topic in order to provide a better understanding of the subject and to formulate assumptions based on this literature review. Then, we interviewed several experts related to the Belgian SRI market in order to link the information gathered during this qualitative approach with the previously formulated assumptions. Finally, we highlighted some issues and trends with a view of providing several managerial recommendations for the Belgian banking sector.

ISR, marché belge, secteur bancaire --- Sciences économiques & de gestion > Finance

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Today, more than ever, our planet must face upheavals that can lead to disastrous consequences such as global warming, social inequalities and overexploitation of resources.
Therefore, the current crisis seems to be the ideal opportunity to raise the issue of integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into our investment strategies.
The objective of this thesis is therefore to establish the ins and outs of socially responsible investment (SRI) in Belgium and more specifically within life insurance. Through this work, we wish to establish the knowledge of this type of investment among the population as well as the reception that is given to it. We also want to study the impact of the coronavirus health crisis on the perception of SRI.
These three main hypotheses were supported by a quantitative analysis of individual investors. The empirical research was also complemented by various readings.
Through our study, we were able to establish that the dissemination of information is not efficient and that the sustainable investment market is still very unknown and not always well seen by Belgian retail investors due to the unfamiliarity. Nevertheless, our research has shown that there is a collective awareness of current global issues. Our study therefore allows us to confirm that it is entirely possible to reconcile financial interests and sustainability.
The main challenge of this sustainable approach is to disseminate the knowledge of SRI but also to highlight its benefits through training for both the public and intermediaries. We also believe that tax incentives to invest in sustainability are a good complementary solution. This makes even more sense as the majority of Belgian households have pension savings. Furthermore, we have seen that SRI bank accounts represent only a small part of the SRI market. We also know that they are the first investment choice of Belgian households. From this observation, we believe that promoters should make more use of this investment vehicle. This could greatly contribute to the expansion of SRI in our country.

ISR --- Investissement socialement responsable --- Belgique --- ESG --- Sciences économiques & de gestion > Finance

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

L'investissement socialement responsable (ISR) croit d'année en année et offre aux
investisseurs différentes stratégies et pratiques dites responsables ou durables. Néanmoins, ces 
stratégies actuelles ne répondent pas encore aux attentes de tous types d‟investisseurs. En 
effet, les critères d‟un investissement responsable varient d‟un investisseur à l‟autre et de 
nombreux praticiens s‟interrogent encore sur l‟efficacité et les performances de 
l‟investissement socialement responsable. Dans ce mémoire, nous étudions les concepts 
d‟éthique et d‟investissement socialement responsable afin de mieux comprendre les limites 
des stratégies ISR actuelles ainsi que les besoins des investisseurs responsables. Ensuite, nous 
analysons la pratique de la vente à découvert afin de déterminer si cette dernière peut 
répondre ou non aux limites découvertes au préalable. En effet, le « short selling » est une 
activité financière très controversée sur les marchés boursiers depuis de nombreuses années. 
Toutefois, celle-ci possède également des caractéristiques ayant amené certains investisseurs à 
penser qu‟elle pourrait être utilisée dans un cadre responsable. Au travers d'interviews 
réalisées auprès de différents experts des marchés financiers et de la finance durable, 
l‟objectif de ce mémoire est donc d'opposer les opinions de ces experts et de scientifiques afin 
de dresser un bilan quant à la perception et les enjeux éthiques de la vente à découvert. Cela 
permet ensuite de déterminer si cette pratique peut oui ou non intégrer l'investissement 
socialement responsable. L'accent est également mis sur certaines pistes d'améliorations afin 
de faciliter l'intégration de la vente à découvert en tant que stratégie ISR.

short selling --- vente à découvert --- Investissement socialement responsable (ISR) --- enjeux éthiques --- Sciences économiques & de gestion > Finance

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Ce mémoire a comme thème les investissements socialement responsables (ISR), qui sont l’équivalent financier de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises (style de management qui s’inscrit dans le développement durable). L’objectif de ce travail est de savoir si ces investissements sur- ou sous-performent les fonds traditionnels. De manière à comprendre et à maîtriser correctement cette approche financière, un chapitre est dédié à l’histoire de l’ISR depuis le 19ème siècle, ainsi qu’à son statut actuel. Différentes étapes d’évolution qui expliquent la philosophie d’aujourd’hui sont à découvrir. Ceci est suivit par un chapitre sur l’industrie autour de l’ISR, présentant les différents acteurs et fournisseurs de services d’importance majeure. La seconde moitié concerne les critères de décision des investisseurs et les méthodologies d’évaluation de performance. Ceci inclut les différentes pratiques de l’ISR et les théories et les outils d’évaluation. Le dernier chapitre analyse plusieurs études sur la performance financière de l’ISR, comparé à celle des fonds traditionnels, dans le but d’obtenir une réponse à la question : le socialement responsable pénalise-t-il la performance ?

ISR --- Fonds --- Performances --- SRI --- Funds --- Performances --- Sciences économiques & de gestion > Finance --- Sciences économiques & de gestion > Economie sociale

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The cyclic lipopeptide (CLP) surfactin is secreted by Bacillus spp. such as Bacillus velezensis, a plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). This molecule has biological functions among which the ability to stimulate the induced systemic resistance (ISR) in several plant models. This phenomenon could be part of the transition to sustainable agriculture since it can help the plant to face many pathogens infections. However, the molecular basis of ISR induction by surfactin is still poorly understood. In this context, a structure-activity approach of surfactin has been adopted to get deeper insights into the relation between this CLP and ISR . Thus, the aim of this thesis is to evaluate the impact
of structural changes in the plant immunization potential of surfactin. For this purpose, naturally occurring variants of surfactin, pumilacidin and lichenysin, have been chosen. These CLPs vary in fatty acid chain length and in peptide composition. In order to deepen our knowledge in the induction of ISR in planta, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) burst and the stimulation of the transcriptional factor MYB72, two plant immunity markers, have been studied. To achieve these objectives, surfactin, pumilacidin and lichenysin have been produced and purified in order to test their ability to trigger ROS burst and myb72 stimulation in addition to their activity as ISR elicitors in Arabidopsis thaliana L. (Arabidopsis), the plant model used in this study. In this work, we firstly demonstrate that the structure of surfactin is determinant for ISR induction in Arabidopsis. Then, regarding ISR markers, our results suggest that myb72 could be an interesting ISR marker where ROS burst alone is not sufficient to trigger ISR. Moreover, we prove that the change of one single amino acid in the peptide ring of the CLP can alter the activity of surfactin. Furthermore, this work provides new insight into ISR induction and in particular on the role of the enzyme, β-glucosidase
BGLU42 in relation to myb72.

Surfactin --- Pumilacidin --- ISR --- Lichenysin --- Arabidopsis --- Bacillus --- Structure --- Sciences du vivant > Biochimie, biophysique & biologie moléculaire --- Sciences du vivant > Microbiologie