The second Nordic Investment Conference was held 16-17 March
Low interest rates and ESG dominates discussions at the 2nd Nordic Investment Conference hosted by CFA Societies in the Nordics.
Against the backdrop of a global pandemic and over a decade of low interest rates, discussions at the 2nd Nordic Investment Conference held over the last two days (16-17 March) underlined the point that financial professionals must not be under any illusion that the status quo will be maintained. Portfolio managers and central banks will need to be prepared to rethink their strategies and priorities.
The conference also emphasized that investors and policymakers alike must accommodate ESG and sustainability risks in their decision frameworks and explored how the fixed-income market is currently lagging the equity market in pricing climate risk.
With ESG becoming an increasingly important component in investment management, the CFA Institute Certificate in ESG Investing* (which becomes available across the Nordics this week - info.cfainstitute.org/ESG-Certificate.html) is an opportunity for practitioners in investment roles who want to learn how to analyse and integrate material ESG factors into their daily investment analysis practice. It is also suitable study for anyone looking to improve their understanding of ESG issues in functions such as sales and distribution, wealth management, product development, financial advice, consulting, and risk.
The Nordic Investment Conference is a yearly event, and its purpose is to discuss current and relevant topics in the financial sector. It brings together local expertise and global perspectives. While ordinarily held in person and arranged by a designated society, this year’s Conference was held online due to the pandemic. The virtual setting has resulted in a wider audience base with participants from all over Europe, US, Africa, and Asia. The Nordic societies hosted over 500 attendees across the two days.
This year, the Nordic Investment Conferences was hosted by CFA Society Norway in partnership with CFA Society Finland, CFA Society Denmark/The Danish Finance Society and CFA Society Sweden.
“The Nordic Investment Conference was established to leverage on the uniqueness and success of the Nordic models. This year, we were pleased to have prominent Nordic experts from sovereign wealth funds, central banks, large Nordic PE funds and sustainable investment firms at the event. One of the critical themes debated this year was the low interest rate environment, and investment professionals gained new perspectives on how to address investment challenges stemming from lower expected returns”
“The Conference was a great success and gave ample answers to some very important questions within asset management and ESG, both from a practitioner as well as a regulatory perspective. It continued the agenda set out at the inaugural Nordic Investment Conference in Copenhagen and attracted more than double the attendees. I look forward to next years’ conference, which we all hope will be in-person.”
The Nordic Societies have a combined membership of over 700 CFA Charterholders in a global network of over 170,000 Charterholders. The mission of both CFA Institute and the Nordic societies is to promote the highest of standards of ethics in finance, as well as to stimulate financial education and encourage professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of society.
*The Certificate in ESG Investing is developed, administered and awarded by CFA Society of the United Kingdom and successful candidates will receive the CFA UK Level 4 Certificate in ESG Investing; from September 2021 onwards, CFA Institute will award the Certificate. The Certificate has been available to Finnish exam takers since February of 2020.