The Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association (Pimfa) has partnered with Morningstar to launch an online training platform for financial advisers to equip them to advise their clients about environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing.
The Pimfa ESG Academy, which officially launches on 15 September 2020, is a CPD-accredited, online learning course free to Pimfa members.
It has been designed especially for financial advisers to support them in making the most of the growing opportunities arising for their clients from ESG investments.
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 advisers with a greater knowledge and understanding of ESG.
Opportunity to be seized
Liz Field, chief executive of Pimfa, said: “ESG is a term we are going to hear more and more frequently in the coming years. As an industry, we are more aware of the ESG factors that are beginning to shape our world than perhaps some other sectors.
“Increasingly, we are seeing client demand for these types of investments and it is clear that ESG factors are having a significant impact on company performance.
“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.
“We want to ensure that our members, and through them their clients, are provided with the latest information and support, equipping them with everything they need to understand, and if appropriate, embrace the future of ESG in investment strategies.”
