The importance of downside risk cannot be denied. In this study, we have replaced beta in the five-factor model of using downside beta and have added a momentum factor to suggest a new six-factor downside beta capital asset pricing model (CAPM). Two models are tested—a beta- and momentum-based six-factor model and a downside-beta- (proxy of downside risk) and momentum-based six-factor model. Beta and downside beta are highly correlated; therefore, portfolios are double-sorted to disentangle the correlation. Factor loadings, i.e., size, value, momentum, profitability, and investment, are constructed. The standard methodologies are applied. Data for sample stocks from different non-financial sectors listed in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) are taken from January 2000 to December 2018. The PSX-100 index and three-month T-bills are taken as proxies for market and risk-free returns. The study uses three subsamples for robustness—period of very high volatility, period of stability, and period of stability and growth with volatility. The results show that the value factor is redundant in both models. The momentum factor is rejected in the beta-based six-factor model only. The beta-based six-factor model shows very low R² in periods of highly volatility. The R² is high for the other periods. In contrast, the downside beta six-factor model captures the downside trend of the market in an effective manner with a relatively high R². The risk–return relationship is stronger for the downside beta model. These reasons lead us to believe that, overall, the downside beta six-factor model is a better option for investors as compared to the beta-based six-factor model in the area of asset pricing models.

The role of family owners in the internal control environment is characterized by contradictory theoretical arguments i.e., entrenchment and alignment behavior. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the behavior exhibited by family owners concerning the internal control environment in an underdeveloped regulatory setting. The study collected both primary and secondary data to use a multivariate regression research design to investigate the impact of family owners and CEOs on the internal control quality and disclosure of enterprises. The results of the current study demonstrated that family owners and family CEO have a negative impact on the internal control quality and disclosure, which validates the entrenchment behavior exhibited by family owners in the Pakistani setting. The results of the current study imply that policymakers should promote strict policy initiatives regarding the effectiveness of internal controls and their reporting so that companies are compelled to have better engagement in internal control practices for the protection of minority shareholders.

There are two opposite views about corporate sustainability in the existing literature. Sustainability activities are considered as a source of long-term value creation for the shareholders’ interest whereas they also occupy scarce corporate resources and become an extra burden at the expense of shareholders. To examine these contradictory views, this study investigated the value relevance of CSP using a sample of 113 firms belonging to twelve (12) highly sustainable economies as ranked by the Global Sustainability Competiveness Index for the period 2015–2020. The CSP was measured through a Sustainability Index (SI) developed in this study using the GRI framework which takes into account all the three dimensions of sustainability, i.e., economic, environmental, and social. The results of the study showed that CSP significantly explains the variation in stock market prices and hence is value relevant in supporting the shareholders’ value-enhancing role of corporate sustainability. The results are useful for practitioners and policy makers in the field of corporate sustainability.

The notable expansion of the green equity market has opened up new avenues for investment for market participants. This study looks at return connectedness, and the implications for portfolio management of green sector equities, and compares the performance of green and traditional investments. To achieve the research objectives, this study uses the TVP-VAR model along with portfolio strategies such as minimum variance portfolio (MVP), minimum correlation portfolio (MCP), and minimum connectedness portfolio (MCoP). Results demonstrate that the energy efficiency sector leads all others in information spillover while the bio/clean fuels sector is the largest net information absorber. Overall, energy efficiency, water, recycling and green building are found to be closely connected sectors, whereas bio/clean fuels, healthy living, natural resources and advanced materials are the least integrated industries in the system. However, a dynamic analysis demonstrates that inter-sector connectedness is time-varying and event-dependent. The MVP approach excels in the full and pre-COVID-19 sample, whilst the MCoP outperforms other methods in the post-COVID-19 scenario. In general, the portfolio exercise shows that green portfolios outperformed commodities but underperformed conventional equity and cryptocurrency portfolios. In contrast, following the COVID-19 pandemic, green portfolios have shown a greater return performance than all other conventional portfolios. The findings not only provide valuable insights to investors and policymakers in the effective management of investments and the green equity market, but also aid the achievement of objectives of environmental policies such as SDGs and the Paris Agreement.