23 September 2020
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The Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association (Pimfa) has launched online training for advisers to meet increasing client demand for environmental, social and governance investing.
The Pimfa ESG Academy, in partnership with Morningstar, provides CPD-accredited training free of charge to members.
The Academy has been designed especially for Financial Advisers to provide them with an immersive and engaging learning experience that supports them in making the most of the growing opportunities arising for their clients from ESG investments.
There is an opportunity to be seized here"
Liz Field, chief executive of Pimfa, said the industry was witnessing increased client demand for ESG investments.
"There is an opportunity to be seized here, and those companies that ignore ESG, or commit a misstep, could incur significant economic costs and jeopardise their ability to earn long-term, sustainable profits, which in turn has an impact on investors," he said.
Pimfa's ESG Academy is not a traditional online class, as participants can learn at their own pace and in their own time, and they will have access to a library of ESG content that they can engage and interact with on any device.
The online course is split into three modules designed to provide financial with a greater knowledge and understanding of ESG and participants can register here. The Academy simplifies the array of latest information and language around ESG, while also delivering the latest regulatory guidance.
ESG investing has boomed in popularity over recent years as fears over climate change have led investors to consider the impact of their money and a growing number of millennials have begun investing.
Morningstar's analysis suggests there is no performance trade-off associated with sustainable funds, revealing the majority of European sustainable funds outperformed their traditional peers over multiple time horizons across seven Morningstar Categories.
Anastasia Georgiou, director of client solutions in the adviser segment at Morningstar, said: "Our data shows global sustainable investment funds reached a record-breaking $1trn in Q2 2020, demonstrating that ESG is fast becoming the new standard for long term investing.
Additionally, more sustainable funds have survived in the past 10 years, in relative terms. Of sustainable funds available to investors 10 years ago, 72% have survived, compared with less than half (45.9%) of traditional funds.
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