18 March 2021 – 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 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," says Isabelle Thompsen, President, CFA Society Norway.
ESG focus
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 Investing1 (which becomes available across the Nordics this week - info.cfainstitute.org/ESG-Certificate) 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 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 inperson,"says Michael Albrechtslund, CEO, CFA Society Denmark/The Danish Finance Society.
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.