Interest in sustainable investing is at an all-time high, with savers flocking to sustainable funds under the promise of both higher returns and positive social impact. At the same time, there’s a growing chorus of criticism with concerns that funds are “greenwashing” and making false promises.

Join Alex Edmans, professor of finance at London Business School, for an accessible and jargon-free masterclass on sustainable investing. Whether you’re interested in exploring sustainable options for your pension or savings, or want to educate yourself on the arguments, this class will equip you with the tools to identify the funds that are truly investing in a responsible manner. Alex will offer a nuanced perspective, presenting all the complex colours in an issue that is often reduced to black and white.

Course content

What is sustainable investing, and can it increase financial returns?
What impact can investors have? Can investors help solve the climate crisis or promote diversity in the boardroom?
What is ‘ESG’ (environmental, social and corporate governance) and how can investors raise ESG issues with company directors?
How investors obtain data on whether a company is socially and environmentally responsible
How to beat the jargon and tell if a fund is investing in a responsible manner

Tutor profile

Alex Edmans is professor of finance at London Business School. Alex has a PhD from MIT as a Fulbright Scholar, and was previously a tenured professor at Wharton and an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. Alex has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, testified in the UK Parliament, and given the TED talk What to Trust in a Post-Truth World and the TEDx talks The Pie-Growing Mindset and The Social Responsibility of Business with a combined 2.5 million views. He previously was Mercers School Memorial Professor of Business at Gresham College, giving a four-year programme of lectures to the public. Alex’s book, Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit, was a Financial Times Book of the Year for 2020. He has won 24 teaching awards at Wharton and LBS and was named Professor of the Year by Poets & Quants in 2021.

Course Details

Date: Thursday 22 June 2023
Time: 1pm-2pm (BST)

A catch up recording will be shared after the class and will be available for two weeks.

This masterclass is available globally. If you are joining us from outside the United Kingdom, please use this time zone converter to check your local live streaming time.

1pm BST | 2pm CEST | 8am PDT | 5pm EDT

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60-minute masterclass: A guide to sustainable investing with Alex Edmans