EFFAS Certified ESG Analyst (CESGA®)

Step 1:

Enrol on the CESGA® Programme offered by an accredited EFFAS National Member Society (NMS). If you are located in a country without a NMS please visit effas-academy.

Prerequisite: none

Step 2:

• Pass the CESGA® exam organised by an accredited EFFAS National Member Society.
• Alternatively pass the CESGA® Common Exam organised by EFFAS.

In general, the objective is to make clear to participants the importance of ESG issues in investment processes. On completing the program students should be able to know and understand:

The CESGA® programme is particularly aimed at financial analysts and portfolio managers who want to integrate ESG data in their capital allocation processes, but also, in general, all investment professionals increasingly committed to ESG issues. Other specialists such as corporate sustainability officers, investor relations, auditors and consultants will find this course interesting to develop a better understanding of the needs of capital markets in terms of ESG information. Summing up it is ideal for asset owners, asset managers, corporate consultants, financial planners, and family offices who wish to embrace ESG integration holistically.

The CESGA® Programme is structured in 10 Modules:

Part I

The first part is an introduction for capital market participants with ESG experience that would like to build up or refresh the fundamentals of ESG as well as for those with no or little experience in ESG investment.

vModule 1: ESG - an Introduction

The objective of this module is to draw the participants’ attention to the state of the art of ESG. What are the recent market trends and strategies? It reviews the similarities and differences between ESG, RI, SI, SRI, impact, engagement, non-financial terms and the additional financial terms necessary for application in investment management.

vModule 2: Recent Developments of ESG integration

The conceptual framework is tested to work ESG aspects into making investment decisions. This module describes the reasons and barriers for using ESG, its implications, the regulatory framework and key ESG market drivers. We also discuss how to prove that ESG factors are important.

vModule 3: Responsible investing across asset classes

The aim of this module is to describe approaches to ESG from the perspective of portfolio management, analysing ESG in different asset classes with a focus on bonds and impact investment.

vModule 4: ESG Reporting

This module focuses on corporate ESG reporting. It will discuss the difference between mandatory and voluntary disclosure as well as difference reporting frameworks (e.g. EFFAS, GRI, TCFD, Integrated Reporting).

vModule 5: Investment Process Chain

The ESG integration process described in the investment process is essential for understanding the integration of ESG in the valuation process. We discuss methodologies for the development of investment policies, allocation and asset selection, the process of monitoring and reporting.

Part II

This part is tailor-made for advanced ESG users.

vModule 6: Approaches of data analysis: data availability, quality and usage

This module will identify the general challenge of different data sources and the identification of material data in combination with the identification and measurement of ESG data.

vModule 7: ESG Integration in Analysis

Here we present the measurement of the different components of E, S and G. We will analyse sector-specific characteristics and highlight the consistency with the business model.

vModule 8: ESG Integration in Valuation

Participants study, through practical examples, the integration of ESG in the process of evaluation of investments, identifying value drivers’ impact on cash flows, beta, external costs, etc. We will study and investigate the integration of KPIs in pricing models like DCF and multiples.

vModule 9: Investment decisions in the context of the investment process chain

This module makes an in-depth analysis of the investment decisions in the process chain, which builds on the basics of the investment process chain in Module 5. Especially, we will discuss Asset Allocation, the Security Selection process, Portfolio construction and the final Investment decision.

vModule 10: Case study

The case study will integrate all the knowledge and skills the students have attained in the other modules to enhance the usefulness of the programme for their daily work.

Download the complete CESGA® Syllabus HERE (PDF)

Download the EFFAS CESGA® Expert Team (PDF) HERE (PDF)