Ethical aims to educate advisors on SRI

While many Canadians may offer their moral support for socially responsible investing, the sector remains something of a niche market compared to the overall fund industry.

Some may claim that socially conscious restriction limit returns, but the evidence does not really support this claim. More likely is that the SRI message is simply not reaching the investor.

To address this, Ethical Funds Company has launched a training program for advisor, called “Building a Better Future — Sustainable Investing Certification Program,” to help improve client communications on the topic of socially responsible investing.

“Canadians want to invest in companies that take environmental, social and governance issues into consideration and we want to help Canadian advisors and investors fully grasp the issues and show them how sustainable investing can fit in with their existing clients and investments,” says Elaine McHarg, senior vice-president and chief marketing officer, at Ethical Funds.

The program consists of three two-and-a-half hour, face-to-face learning labs and post-session activities, focusing on topics such as “The Power of Positive Investing” and “Selling with a Competitive Edge.”

The goal of the course is to improve the advisor’s understanding of sustainable investing and communicate that knowledge to the client. One of the keys to SRI funds is the principal that it is more costly for corporations to remedy social and environmental problems than to avoid the problems in the first place.

The program also helps advisors to position sustainable investing as a competitive advantage, differentiating them from their competitors. Investors who feel strongly about sustainability issues are more likely to seek out an advisor who has expertise in the field.

“This program combines the expertise of our sustainability team — the largest of its kind in Canada — along with industry experts and the leading innovative learning techniques,” adds McHarg. The program will be rolled out to advisors by the company’s sales team.

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.