Bogotá– Today, the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative and the Latin American Sustainable Investment Forum (LatinSIF) are unveiling scholarships for five selected SSE Partner Exchanges plus other representatives from the capital markets in the region to participate in the responsible investment training course (called ‘PRI Fundamentals’) of the PRI Academy at the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).  Recipients were chosen for their potential to lead adoption of new ideas regarding the investment profession in Latin America and the Caribbean, and to strengthen the business case for systematically incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in investment processes.  Therefore, scholarships have been extended to the Colombian Securities Exchange, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Lima Stock Exchange, Mexican Stock Exchange, and Santiago Stock Exchange.  Alongside these exchanges, recipients include pension fund associations and regulators, securities regulators, and banking associations in the same countries.

At the SSE Regional Dialogue: Latin America & Caribbean on 10 February, representatives of four SSE Partner Exchanges concurred that more concerted efforts are needed in the region to promote, train, and build capacity among capital markets players on the trend toward responsible investment.  This expertise is scarce particularly outside Brazil.  Now, regional exchanges take a concrete step toward stimulating demand among users of ESG information provided by corporate issuers.

The training explores the key aspects of responsible investment, uses real-life case studies to illustrate the materiality of ESG issues in business, introduces strategies for identifying and managing new approaches to ESG, and identifies sustainability data in financial modelling.  It consists of three hours of virtual training, and each scholarship represents a value of GBP £240.  The PRI provides the intellectual brawn behind the course.

Notably, the scholarships are awarded by the SSE and LatinSIF in collaboration with the following partners who are active in the region: United Nations Global Compact, United Nations Environment Programme’s Finance Initiative, PRI, Global Reporting Initiative, and CDP.  It is made possible thanks to the financial support of the government of the Netherlands.

Alejandro Navarro, who heads the SSE’s partner LatinSIF, explains, “These scholarships signal a decisive first step to create a responsible investment community in Latin America and the Caribbean, as SSE Partner Exchanges and key actors from the various sectors of the financial community come together to build knowledge and explore the relationship between ESG factors and financial performance.  Furthermore, it is exciting to witness the first partnership among the most relevant responsible investment initiatives to foment a prosperous regional market.”