CFA ESG, the first graduating class at La Financière de l’Echiquier

Responsible investment pioneer La Financière de l’Echiquier (LFDE) is offering its employees the chance to enhance their expertise by taking the CFA ESG exam. This rigorous certification demonstrates knowledge of the sustainable finance market and its issues; it also shows evidence of investing skills enhanced by the inclusion of environmental, social, and governance factors.

The first 10 LFDE employees were awarded this certification in October 2021.

Coline Pavot, Head of Responsible Investment Research, who initiated this project, says :

I’m so proud of how successful this project has been. Nine other candidates have prepared to sit the exam, which requires significant personal investment. It’s a sign of what a core issue this is for our company. It is a day-to-day concern for our management team. This is a real measure of how seriously our responsible investment approach is being taken by our teams!

Alexis Bienvenu, Fund Manager, comments :

Working toward ESG certification gave me the opportunity to take stock of all of the issues and methods for integrating ESG into our investment processes. I really homed in on the concept of stewardship , which can be very involved depending on how you interpret it; I’d never realised how central it is until now.

Mathieu Barbara, Fund Manager, adds :

CFA ESG certification helped me validate the non-financial analysis skills I’d been developing for more than seven years at La Financière de l’Echiquier, by broadening my field of expertise to include socially-responsible investing. This training is a benchmark and provides a common core of knowledge in an SRI market that’s still young and is constantly changing and growing.

About CFA ESG |Certificate in ESG Investing (cfasociety.org)

The CFA ESG was launched in 2019 and now has nearly 5,000 registrants. This certification is designed for investment professionals who want to learn how to analyse and integrate ESG factors into their operations.

[1] The use of influence by institutional investors to maximise overall long-term value including the value of common economic, social and environmental assets, on which returns and clients’ and beneficiaries’ interests depend, www.unpri.org