Gianfranco Gianfrate speaking on sustainable finance
Gianfranco Gianfrate, Professor of Finance, EDHEC Business School, and Sustainable Finance Lead Expert, EDHEC-Risk Institute, will give the keynote closing speech on the theme of Climate Finance at the Big Call: ESG Investors Forum, hosted by ETF Stream, in London on 26 November, 2019, and will discuss the issues surrounding its actual implementation.
Investing based on environmental, social and governance-based measures has suddenly become mainstream. Everyone from pension and sovereign wealth funds through to mass market retail is asking for funds which either negatively screen out or positively select shares and businesses with a commitment to doing ‘the right thing’ – however that may be defined.
But as this sector has grown almost exponentially, the questions and critiques have started to multiply. How accurate (and useful) are the index screening methodologies? What’s the impact of the selected businesses in real world challenges? Is the whole movement one giant example of virtue signalling by a liberal financial elite?
The session "Green Investing: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" will examine the following issues:
- Sustainable investing has finally become mainstream in finance
- Unfortunately, “sustainability” for many companies and investors is a just a marketing tool
- New reliable metrics and innovative investment approaches are needed to foster the transition to a low-carbon economy
Further information on the conference can be found in the programme. You can register here.
Gianfranco Gianfrate is Professor of Finance at EDHEC Business School. He writes and researches on climate change finance. Prior to joining EDHEC Business School, he held teaching and research positions at Erasmus University (Netherlands), Harvard University (USA), and Bocconi University (Italy). Previously, Gianfranco has worked in the financial industry for Deloitte Corporate Finance and Hermes Investment Management. Gianfranco holds a BA and a PhD in Business Administration from Bocconi University and a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University.
