Social Investment of Pension Funds Perspective: The Case of Russia

The current survey aims to draw a perspective on the social investment of pension funds in Russia. The author defines the concept within the context of the Conventions Theory. The practice of the social investment of pension funds presupposes a complex architecture of social order that combines dominant domestic market world principles with elements from the civic and industrial world. The new order is achieved through a compromise of domestic value orientations and the competition for pension funds, the collective character of investments with its temporal and spatial attachment, calculation of risks and profits, as well as focus on results. The study employs a qualitative research with a regression analysis. The results indicate that in St. Petersburg (Russia), despite the individuals’ pessimism towards the pension system, there is a glimmer of interest in this issue. Respondents admit the likelihood of socially responsible investing their pension funds in case the rate of return on these investment projects will not be less than the interest on bank deposits. The important factors of attracting pension funds in social projects are: the local character of investment projects, the short-term individual consumption perspective, and the state regulation of social investment market. The author concludes that social investing has a potential to become an alternative way in the pension system evolution in Russia. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6p17