Sustainable Finance

The Geneva School of Business Administration (Haute école de gestion Genève – HEG) of the HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland is offering the first online Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Sustainable Finance to help finance professionals seize growing opportunities offered by responsible investment.

Type de formation

Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS)

Début de la formation

13 january 2025

Nombre de crédits ECTS

Durée de la formation

6 months

Délai d'inscription

10 December 2024

Lieu

HEG-Genève

Information

Brochure 2025

Program

2025

Program overview

Training in Sustainable Finance

Today, responsible investment represents more than 25% of all professionally managed assets, according to the Global Sustainable Investment Review. For finance professionals, sustainability represents new opportunities in terms of jobs and markets. It is also a source of innovation in financial products and services. The interest for sustainable finance is increasing rapidly among private investors (millennials), as well as among institutional investors.

Designed by professionals for professionals, this programme is mainly organized through online teaching in English and it is well grounded in the Swiss tradition of excellence. Seasoned sustainable finance experts from the financial, banking, international organisations and academic domains have contributed to this CAS. A final week in Geneva is devoted to networking, live presentations, discussions and visits at expert organisations, enabling participants to dive into the rich local sustainability ecosystem.

The CAS Sustainable Finance is targeting a local and international audience of finance professionals willing to take the next turn in their career by mastering the theory and practice of this growing field: financial analysts, portfolio managers, independent wealth managers, client advisors, and junior ESG analysts.

Recognized as Best Pedagogical Innovation at the FIR-PRI Finance & Sustainability Awards 2019

Site internet

Program

The CAS Sustainable Finance will be open for 26 weeks: students will have 25 weeks maximum to follow the 9 steps of the online education part of the program.

Online

Step 1: Sustainability and you - From capitalism to sustainable development
Step 2: Be a bank CEO - Sustainability, business & finance
Step 3: Define your investment charter - The role of asset owners
Step 4: Set practical investment guidelines - ESG criteria
Step 5: Implement ESG assessments - Responsible investment
Step 6: Submit an investment idea - SDG, thematic and impact investing
Step 7: Select the right funds - Responsible investment process
Step 8: Be an active shareholder - Corporate governance & engagement
Step 10: Formulate your investment process - Walking the path of sustainable finance

In Geneva

Kick-off meeting January 2025
Step 9: Meet Geneva experts’ sustainability ecosystem - Recent developments in sustainable finance 28 to 30 August 2024

Organisation

Antoine Mach

Co-founder and managing partner of Covalence SA, a Geneva-based company specialized in Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings, founded in 2001. He co-founded Sustainable Finance Geneva.

Anjeza Kadilli

Professeure HES assistante

Anjeza Kadilli, Ph.D, is assistant professor of sustainable finance at Geneva School of Business Administration. She has many years of experience as a senior economist in the banking sector with a macroeconomic and ESG research focus. She strongly believes that finance, as a fund vehicle, can play a major role towards a more sustainable future.

Contact & informations

Educational design

Jean Laville

Partner at Conser, an independent consultancy firm dedicated to sustainable finance. He is also Deputy Director of Swiss Sustainable Finance, an association promoting sustainable finance in Switzerland.

Facilitator

Kookie Habtegaber

She is a development economist. Her main focus has been on the interface between economic development, environmental risks and sustainable finance. Most recently Kookie served as the global lead for WWF’s green economy work.

Training

The structure of the CAS Sustainable Finance combines theory, concepts, industry expert interviews, and practical exercises, and is supported by mandatory and optional readings in addition to video material and tests. The practical dimension of this programme will allow participants to endorse different roles relevant to a full responsible investment process.

For example, students will act as the CEO of a bank and as an asset owner defining their values and investment guidelines. They will also play the role of an analyst defining ESG criteria and applying the guidelines, and of an asset manager in charge of selecting the right investment funds.

As virtual shareholders, students will exercise their voting rights and engage with companies on certain themes. Finally, participants will discuss the steps of their investment process during the last week of the course in Geneva.

Experts from the following organisations have been interviewed for this course: Conser Invest, de Pury Pictet Turrettini & Cie, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), ethos, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Impact Finance Management S.A., International Labour Organization, Lombard Odier, Nest Fondation collective, Oberson Abels, PeaceNexus Foundation, Pictet & Cie SA, Quadia, SGS, Sustainable Finance Geneva, Swiss Sustainable Finance, Symbiotics, UNEP Finance Initiative, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), University of Oxford, and University of Geneva.

Learning outcomes

This course will enable participants to understand the drivers and characteristics of the sustainable finance movement and to build their own responsible investment strategy whether it be as a corporate actor, an investor, an asset manager, or as an active shareholder.

At the end of the programme, the participant is able to:

Justify why sustainability is relevant to the financial sector
Combine the constraints of risk, return, and impact
Conduct ESG analyses and select responsible investment products
Understand active ownership and engage with companies on sustainability issues
Report on a full responsible investment process

Applications

Applications sent after the official registration deadline will be taken into account depending on the places availability. Please contact the executive education office directly.

Applications will be treated on a «first-come first-served» basis and will be restricted for pedagogical reasons. In addition to the signed application form, the application must include the followings: curriculum vitae, motivation letter, copy of highest diploma, work certificates, copy of ID and a recent picture.

A non-refundable registration fee of CHF 200.- is due and a proof of payment must accompany the application file.

For the complete programme (distance learning & Geneva on-site classes): the programme fee is CHF 6’000.-. It does not include potential travel and hotel expenses in Geneva.

For the distance learning ONLY (steps 1-9): the programme fee is CHF 4’000.-.

To register for the complete programme, please use the following online link:

Online registration

To register for the distance learning ONLY, please download the registration form below:

Registration form

News & Media

The program management shares its news, publications, conferences and media publications on the themes of Sustainable Finance training for the general public.

Media

Testimonials

Je suis fondateur et directeur de Norsia, une startup qui aide les conseillers financiers à personnaliser leur approche de la finance durable en fonction des sensibilités de leurs clients. J’ai suivi le CAS SF en 2019.

J’ai choisi ce programme pour compléter mes connaissances sur la finance durable. Elles étaient limitées et je cherchais une formation qui allie la théorie à un côté plus pratique. J’ai tout de suite été séduit par l’aspect ‘learning by doing’ du cursus qui est vraiment prégnant. Il ne s’agit pas d’apprendre par cœur des concepts mais plutôt d’en prendre connaissance pour pouvoir nourrir une réflexion personnelle. Cela m’a rendu l’apprentissage beaucoup plus efficace et plus ludique.

Le CAS SF m’aide beaucoup dans ma carrière. Je ne travaillais pas dans le domaine et ce cours m’a d’abord apporté la confirmation que c’était un domaine dans lequel je voulais vraiment m’investir professionnellement. Ensuite il m’a apporté des connaissances, des ressources, un certain esprit critique mais aussi les premiers contacts de mon réseau dans la finance durable.

LinkedIn
Patrick Schirmann Founder & CEO, Norsia

Senior Impact Analyst chez Quadia, j’accompagne les entreprises de notre portefeuille d’investissement dans la mesure de leurs performance environnementale et sociale et dans l’amélioration de leurs pratiques de durabilité au sein de l’entreprise.

Après une expérience en audit financier au sein du cabinet EY, j’ai choisi de suivre le CAS Sustainable Finance il y a 3 ans afin d’élargir mes compétences dans le domaine de la finance durable. Cette formation m’a permis de développer des connaissances sur les grandes thématiques de la finance durable et d’obtenir une certification reconnue. J’ai apprécié le format de cette formation, qui laisse place à la créativité et permet de construire le rendu final à partir des exercices intermédiaires.

Outre la qualité des contenus, j’ai ainsi pu découvrir l’impact investing, élargir mon réseau local et intégrer Quadia en septembre 2020. Cette formation m’a également apporté une meilleure compréhension des attentes des investisseurs, et des enjeux auxquels sont confrontés les entreprises.

LinkedIn
Clothilde Mahroua Senior Impact Analyst, Quadia

Gilles Socchi Investment Advisor, UBS Switzerland

Joël Broillet Head of Product Managment, Lombard Odier, Investment Managers

Veronica Verdial Bordier & Cie

Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS)
Sustainable Finance