Certified Expert in ESG & Impact Investing - Sustainable Finance

Overview

Training Methodology

programme Outline

Participant Profile

Lecturers

Overview

Open for Registration

HRDC PROG NO
10001266709

When

Next Intake -

1 March - 15 September 2025

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Mar 01, 2025, 12:00 AM

Sep 15, 2025, 12:00 AM

TRAINING PLATFORM

Online (Frankfurt School e-Campus)

LEARNING LEVEL

Advanced

Programme Fee*

Early Bird Fee

MYR 8,000 / SGD 2,400

By 15 Jan 2025

Regular Fee

MYR 9,500 / SGD 2,900

After 15 Jan 2025

*Fee shown is per participant and subject to 8% Service Tax. An additional final exam fee will be charged by the Frankfurt School for the second and third final exam attempt.
In line with the HRD Corp employer guideline (How to Apply for Grants), employers are required to apply for the grant at least one (1) day before training commences.

In collaboration with and certificate awarded by:

Environment Social and Governance (ESG) and Impact Investing are approaches to finance that are related to each other, although they may occupy different ends of the spectrum in terms of methodological intensity or operational mind-set.

They have gained a lot of traction in recent years and will continue to do so in the (post-) Corona world. Calls for a green and socially equitable re-start are very prominent. The EU’s Green New Deal (“Green Deal”) and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are good examples of how ESG criteria and ideas of Impact Investing are being incorporated into policy objectives.

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Training Methodology

An interactive e-learning programme including video lectures, PDF scripts, examples, practical exercises, online tests, assignments and case studies. A discussion forum for course related issues as well as for exchange of opinions and experiences with trainers, peers or the FSDF e-Campus team. Personalised support from the Frankfurt School e-Campus team. The possibility to achieve an internationally recognised Frankfurt School certificate after passing the 2-hour online final exam or for those not wanting to take the final exam, a confirmation of course participation after completing the course.

Programme Outline

Programme Structure

The course takes approximately 6 months assuming 4-6 hours of self-study per week. It consists of 7 mandatory units, which build upon each other.

UNIT 1 : Introduction and Overview: What are ESG Criteria and Impact Investing
This introductory unit provides you with an understanding of how ESG criteria and Impact Investing relate to traditional mainstream finance. It familiarises you with major stakeholders, initiatives, and approaches for integrating non-financial issues into the day-to-day activities of investing. Key concepts and themes are introduced, which establish foundations for a learning journey that will be expanded upon over the subsequent units.
UNIT 2 : Historical and Theoretical Context
ESG and Impact Investing are orientated within different operational contexts: from asset management, through direct investment, to advisory services, etc. This unit helps you understand what is relevant for your context, whilst also making you aware of other requirements you may encounter in adjacent parts of the industry. It contextualises the historical evolution and theoretical development of ESG and Impact Investing to show how they complement each other, and to demystify why some narratives about managing non-financial factors appear to be fragmented and conflicting. Conceptual structures are presented that help you apply theory to praxis via a unified framework.
UNIT 3 : Strategies for Measuring and Managing ESG Criteria and Impact
There are different strategic pathways available to managing ESG and impact factors. Each pathway represents a different level of methodological intensity. You will be introduced to the techniques and tools that are relevant for each, and learn how to choose the pathway that is most suitable for your needs or circumstances. This unit also clarifies how these strategic pathways align with operational mind-sets such as compliance, risk management, as well as proactively managing performance against non-financial goals.
UNIT 4 : Integrating ESG and Impact Management in the Investment Process
Each of the strategic pathways for managing ESG and impact can be integrated at every stage of the investment process: from deal sourcing and due diligence, through ongoing investment management, to final exit or contract maturity. These all follow the same high-level process that aligns with the Deming quality management cycle. This is applied with different levels of intensity and granularity depending on the strategic pathway being followed. You will learn how this process can be deployed across all asset classes, across publicly traded securities and private over-the-counter transactions, and by retail investors as well as institutional investors.
UNIT 5 : Specialised Financial Instruments and Legal Contracts that Integrate ESG and Impact
This unit starts with an introduction of traditional asset classes and financial instruments (a refresher for anyone familiar with both investing and philanthropy). You will learn how ESG and impact features are incorporated into financial instruments. This can be achieved either by enhancing traditional instruments with additional requirements and obligations, such as with Green Bonds; or by developing innovative instruments and hybrid models that introduce new contractual and financial arrangements, such as Social Impact Incentives.
UNIT 6 : Ratings, Indicators, Non-Financial Reporting and Data
There are currently no universally accepted standards for reporting non-financial information, although there are several voluntary frameworks and norms established by industry initiatives. You will learn about the key regulations and legal requirements that are currently in various stages of development, notably by the European Commission. The unit also covers key trends, selected best practice, and challenges to help you navigate the various ratings, labels, certifications, and evaluation methods that are available. The challenges and opportunities in data collection are outlined, which explains why information from different providers of data and ratings is often weakly correlated.
UNIT 7 : Elective Module
Participants choose one module from the following options. The unit will conclude with an assignment that is tailored to the option you choose.
7a Marketing, Fundraising and Sales – this option allows you to delve deeper into designing and presenting a product, fund, or other business idea for ESG and impact investing. It covers fund design, investor targeting, and how to present to investors.
7b Due Diligence – this option allows you to delve deeper into assessing investment opportunities. It covers the different tools available and how to take into account the market context, governance, legal form and business models, as well as planning an on-site visit.

Participant profile

Finance experts and professionals, including retail bankers, financial advisors, asset managers, risk managers etc. and all other financial industry professionals interested in the topic of sustainable finance. Also designed for those working in international DFIs, multilateral donor organisations, institutional investors, pension funds, insurance companies, asset and fund managers who want their investments to achieve positive impact.

Lecturers

Prof. Dr. Zacharias Sautner

Professor of Finance at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management

Lucie Charrier

Senior Financial Inclusion Expert

Karl Richter

Co-founder of EngagedX

Dina Lorenz

Business Development Manager, Regulatory

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Prof. Dr. Zacharias Sautner

Professor of Finance at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management

Prof. Dr. Zacharias Sautner is Professor of Finance at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. He was previously Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Amsterdam and Research Fellow in Finance at the Saïd Business School of the University of Oxford. Zacharias Sautner works in the area of empirical corporate finance and focuses on ESG, climate finance, and corporate governance. His research was published in leading international journals such as the Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, Management Science or Review of Finance and he has presented at conferences such as the AFA, WFA, and EFA. He was ranked #2 in Germany in Business Administration (#1 in Finance) based on A+ publications (age of 40 or below) by Forschungsmonitoring.org (February 2019). He teaches corporate finance, valuation, and corporate governance and has won different research and teaching awards.

Lucie Charrier

Senior Financial Inclusion Expert

Lucie Charrier is a Senior Financial Inclusion Expert with 15 years of experience in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle-East, Europe and Central Asia. Lucie Charrier is currently Senior Business Development Expert for the implementation of the Technical Assistance Programme of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to the Financial Sector that is being implemented by Frankfurt School of Finance and Management since May 2018 in the Caribbean region. Lucie is a Qualified Social Performance Auditor by CERISE since December 2015. Lucie was previously Country Manager Peru for Oikocredit and Senior Analyst at Planet Rating. Lucie has conducted more than 100 institutional, financial and social performance ratings, due diligence and evaluations, social audits, Smart Campaign’s client protection principles certifications as well as technical assistance projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle-East, Europe and Central Asia.

Karl Richter

Co-founder of EngagedX

Karl Richter is the co-founder of EngagedX, which is a consultancy specialising in impact investing, thought leadership, data and tech development, advocacy and policy work. Karl works internationally across private, public, and social sectors. He lectures at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, and has guest lectured at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Karl's previous experiences include a 12 month assignment as Head of Research and Knowledge for the UNDP SDG Impact Finance initiative (UNSIF), where he led research to improve the analytical framework for social impact investing; membership of Groupe d'Experts de la Commission sur l'Entrepreneuriat Social (GECES) of the European Commission to advise on its Social Business Initiative; part of the OECD expert group on social impact investing. Karl is currently Senior Fellow of the Finance Innovation Lab; and adviser to several organisations, including the China Alliance for Social Value Investment.

Dina Lorenz

Business Development Manager, Regulatory

Dina Lorenz studied economic law focusing on finance and started her career as a consultant and investment banker specialised in the acquisition and respective valuation of financial institutions. She now works as a Business Development Manager, Regulatory. Dina specialises in Impact Investing topics having worked for a Swiss Impact Investment Fund the last several years in Lima, Peru. Underlying her dedicated work within Impact Investing, she is a member of the Board of SA Oikocredit North Germany, a support association of Oikocredit International, a Netherland´s based worldwide cooperative and social investor, providing funding to the microfinance sector, fair trade organisations, cooperatives and small to medium enterprises in Africa, South-East Asia, India and Latin America. In addition, she is a consultant to the Green Sustainable Finance Cluster Germany as well as founding member on the establishment of the Federal Initiative Impact Investing in Germany.