Social, Ethical & Impact Investing & Islamic Finance

Social, Ethical & Impact Investing & Islamic Finance:
Incorporating ESG & SRI Strategies with Islamic Asset Management

SIDC CPE-approved: 10 CPE Points

Date: 12^th April 2017
Venue: InterContinental Hotel, KUALA LUMPUR

In partnership with

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COURSE BACKGROUND

Awareness in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Sustainable Responsible Investing (SRI) has intensified significantly in the past two years. As ethical investing becomes more commonplace, especially among large institutional investors, and media coverage of the sector’s activity proliferates, ESG and SR investing is set to grow in importance. Recent research has indicated that younger investors are more likely to invest in sustainable investments than otherwise. As such, asset managers and financial institutions anticipate that global demand for socially responsible investment products will soar in coming years.

Through its structure and nature, Shariah-compliant finance and investment is supremely well-positioned to take advantage of the growth of ethical and sustainable investing. With Islamic finance being inherently ethical and the similarities with ESG and SRI being many, the development of Islamic finance products that are also ethical and sustainable offers financial institutions and asset managers an exciting and potentially lucrative opportunity.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

Discussing ethical, ESG/SR investing and how it complements Islamic finance and investment principles and activities
Basing investment decisions on ESG and SR factors: defining the ethical, sustainable investment sector
Assessing opportunities for the integration of ESG/SRI products in the Islamic finance marketplace
Identifying key characteristics of ethical, ESG and SR investing performance measurement
Exploring valuation issues and challenges with both ESG and SR investing
Effectively undertaking asset allocation for a high-performance, balanced ESG/SRI portfolio

For enquiries please contact:

Normariya Sariman
Account Manager, REDmoney Seminars
[email protected]
Direct Line: +603 2162 7800 ext 44

Ramesh Kalimuthu
Events Sales Director
[email protected]
Direct Line: +603 2162 7800 ext 65
Fax: +603 2162 7810

For sponsorship & speaking opportunities:

Andrew Tebbutt
Managing Director
[email protected]
Direct Line: +603 2162 7802

For marketing and media enquiries

Govina Selvanthran
Marketing Manager
[email protected]
Direct Line: +603 2162 7800 ext 22

If you are looking for an in-house training program or wish to send a group to an existing public program, kindly please contact Andrew Tebbutt at [email protected] or +603 2162 7802.
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AGENDA

Session One (9:00 – 10:45): What is Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Sustainable Responsible Investing (SRI) and What Role does it play in the Islamic Asset Management Landscape?

Basing investment decisions on ESG and SR factors: defining the ethical and impact investment sector and predicting its importance in the coming years
Discussing ethical, ESG/SR investing and how it complements Islamic finance and investment principles and activities
Discussing trends and potential market size; identifying admissible activities and sectors and assessing the likely evolution of ESG/SRI products
Assessing opportunities for the integration of ESG/SRI funds in the Shariah funds marketplace
Investor profiling for the ESG/SRI market: sovereign wealth funds and institutional investor investment mandates

Stuart Hutton — Chief Investment Officer, Simply Ethical

Coffee (10:45 – 11:15)

Session Two (11:15 – 12:45): Evaluating Performance Management and Screening Tools for ESG/SR Investing

Identifying key characteristics of ethical, ESG and SR investing performance measurement
Discussing and evaluating various asset classes and their importance to ESG/SR investing
Incorporating ethical screens and screening methodologies into an ESG/SF-conscious investment decision making processes
Evaluating ESG/SF investment indices and performance measurement tools in this sector
Dovetailing Shariah screens and indices with those of ESG/SRI
Assessing the development of recognised Global ESG standards for investment mandates

Ariff Sultan — Regional Director, IdealRatings

Lunch (12:45 – 14:00)

Session Three (14:00 – 15:30): Analysing Ethical and ESG/SF Investments: Key Legal, Documentation & Structuring Issues

Coffee (15:30 – 16:00)

Session Four (16:00 – 17:00): Analysing Valuation and Portfolio Construction Strategies in ESG/SR Investing

Exploring valuation and transparency issues and challenges with both ESG and SR investing
Are conventional valuation methods applicable and transferable to ESG/SRI activities?
Factoring in externalities and non-tangibles in the ESG/SR investment environment
Identifying and discussing key risk management issues for ESG/SRI investment
Effectively undertaking asset allocation for a high-performance, balanced ESG/SRI portfolio

Cindy Rose — Head of Responsible Investing – Stewardship, Aberdeen Asset Management PLC

Coffee and Networking (17:00)

EXPERT COURSE DIRECTORS

Ariff Sultan Regional director, Asia Pacific, IdealRatings

Ariff Sultan joined IdealRatings in 2012 as the regional director of Asia Pacific (APAC) and is responsible for the business in this region.

Prior to this, Ariff was the regional director for Russell Indexes and Dow Jones Indexes for the past five years and was responsible for developing their businesses in the Asian market, both for the conventional and Shariah index sales.

He has 17 years of experience in financial and banking software sales, successfully selling into APAC and the Middle East financial institutions. He has worked with leading financial software providers including London Bridge Group, Fair Isaac and Callatay & Wouters and Misys. Prior to his sales career, Ariff started his career as a software developer and project manager for financial software applications with Deloitte and Touché and subsequently with OCBC Bank in Singapore.

Cindy Rose Head of Responsible Investing & Co-Head of Stewardship, Aberdeen Asset Management

Cindy Rose is Head of Responsible Investing and co-head of Stewardship at Aberdeen Asset Management. Cindy leads cross asset class support on ESG integration into investment decisions and on related research on companies, as well as SRI screening for Aberdeen’s SRI/ethical funds. Cindy joined Aberdeen via the acquisition of Glasgow-based Murray Johnstone in 2000. At Murray Johnstone, Cindy worked as an Investment Writer and Web Editor. Previously, Cindy worked for United States Tax Court in Washington DC.

Stuart Hutton Chief Investment Officer, Simply Ethical

Having worked across retail, construction and executive search, Stuart Hutton established his own wealth management business 10 years ago, providing investment advice to high-net-worth individuals, families and companies.

Stuart recently joined Simply Ethical as its chief investment officer, where he is driving an innovative and fresh approach to accessing Shariah compliant ethical investments. He is also a keen supporter of financial technology and some of the exciting new ideas in this area.

Stuart is a chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) and is also a qualified financial planner with the Personal Finance Society. He holds the Islamic Finance Qualification and is an external specialist advisor to the CISI on Islamic finance.

Outside of financial services, Stuart holds several trustee and non-executive director positions, including as the chairman of a UK housing company.

Who Will Benefit?

This multi speaker, one day seminar will benefit anyone from an asset or fund management organisation, or financial institution who is involved or potentially involved with the development of ethical financial products.