Domestic Journal Articles

Competitiveness analysis of ESG qualified investment funds available in Hungary

Vancsura László - Bareith Tibor

László Vancsura Tibor Bareith

Pénzügyi Szemle/Public Finance Quarterly, Vol. 71. No. 2. pp. 50-75. (2025)

Abstract
The aim of this study is to examine the factors influencing the annual returns and total expense ratio (TER) of equity funds operating in Hungary, with a particular focus on funds with ESG ratings. The study is based on data from the period between 2021 and 2023 and targets public equity investment funds. We used OLS and quantile regression methods for the analysis, taking into account the extreme inflationary environment and the economic changes caused by COVID-19 and the Russian-Ukrainian war. The results show that ESG ratings have a significant negative impact on annual returns according to the OLS model, while based on quantile regression, this negative impact is particularly evident in the upper quantiles of returns. In contrast, the impact on the total expense ratio is not significant, although funds focusing on emerging markets show significantly higher cost levels in the higher quantiles. In addition, it can be concluded that funds with higher net asset values operate at lower costs, which indicates the prevalence of economies of scale. The age of the funds shows a positive correlation with the total expense ratio, indicating that older funds typically have higher operating costs. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the performance and cost structure of ESG funds and highlight that sustainability considerations should be assessed in a differentiated manner in terms of both returns and costs when making investment decisions.
Keywords:
equity mutual funds, performance, ESG rating, TER, COVID19, Russian-Ukrainian conflict, G10, G23, M14
https://doi.org/10.35551/PFQ_2025_2_3
2025

The role of capital income in the Hungarian income distribution from 2007 to 2021

Judit Krekó – Csaba G. Tóth

Judit Krekó –  Csaba G. Tóth

Intersections : East European Journal of Society and Politics,  Vol. 10. No. 3. 2024. p. 199-200.

Abstract

Capital income represents a significant and growing share of total income at the aggregate level in most countries. However, the link between capital income and overall income inequality is not clear, as it is influenced by the distribution of capital income among individuals and its overlap with labour income. Using administrative personal income tax data, we explore the characteristics of taxable capital income in Hungary for the period from 2007 to 2021, and assess its role in overall income inequality. Capital income, which accounted for 8 to 12% of total taxable income in the period under review, was distributed among just 5 to 7% of taxpayers. The highest income percentile held 74% of capital income, while the share of the highest income decile exceeded 90% in 2021. Given its concentration at the top of the total income distribution, capital income significantly increased income inequality. By decomposing the change in inequality measured by the Gini index, we show that although the increase in overall income inequality is largely attributable to the growing concentration of labour income, capital income also exerted a major influence during this period. In our simulation, we demonstrate that an increase in the share of capital income within total income would lead to a notable increase in inequality.
Keywords:
income inequality, capital income, personal income tax, Gini index
https://doi.org/10.17356/ieejsp.v10i3.1295

 

2025