CFA Institute and the PRI partner on ESG outreach, focus on global workshops, ESG survey and expanded ESG survey

This work is the formalisation of a collaboration between CFA Institute and the PRI, which began in May. We have already collaborated and published an investing study regarding the integration and reporting of ESG factors, ESG in Equity Analysis and Credit Analysis.¹

On 3 October 2017 at the London Stock Exchange, CFA Institute and the PRI will kick off the first of 20 global workshops for professional investors designed to enable crucial understanding of how ESG issues are affecting share prices, bond yields, and bond spreads. The workshops are by invitation only, and the list extends into 2018.²

As part of the workshop project, CFA Institute and the PRI will concurrently conduct a multilingual survey that will be administered by YouGov. The high-level preliminary results of the survey will be made available to all workshop participants, CFA Institute members, and members of other investment associations who participate in the study.

Following the informal workshop surveys, CFA Institute and the PRI will compile and expand the results of the ESG survey and feature detailed analysis, country-specific information on the current state of ESG integration, and best practices in the investment decision-making process. The expanded ESG survey will be published in 2018 after the workshops are concluded.

“There is still a lot of misunderstanding about what ESG factors are and how they can be incorporated into day-to-day decision making by financial analysts,” said Justin Sloggett, Head of Public Markets at the PRI. “We’d like to break down these misconceptions because the PRI believes strongly that there need not be any barriers to using ESG in investment practices.”

“We wish to determine to what extent investors of all stripes and from across the globe are applying aspects of ESG investing,” said Kurt Schacht, JD, CFA, Managing Director of Advocacy at CFA Institute.

“The degree to which these concepts are incorporated into investor analysis and investment principles could have relevance for regulator disclosures and investor education.”

About CFA Institute

CFA Institute is the global association of investment professionals that sets the standard for professional excellence and credentials. The organization is a champion for ethical behavior in investment markets and a respected source of knowledge in the global financial community. The end goal: to create an environment where investors’ interests come first, markets function at their best, and economies grow. CFA Institute has over 148,000 members in 163 countries and territories, including 142,000 CFA charterholders, and 148 member societies. For more information, visit www.cfainstitute.org.

About the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)

The PRI is the world’s leading proponent of responsible investment. It works to understand the investment implications of ESG factors and to support its international network of investor signatories in incorporating these factors into their investment and ownership decisions. The PRI acts in the long-term interests of its signatories, of the financial markets and economies in which they operate, and ultimately of the environment and society as a whole. Visit the PRI website for more details: www.unpri.org.