More than three-quarters of institutional investors globally say that consideration of environmental, social and governance factors helps them price in the unexpected and informs their overall decision-making. Yet the field of sustainable finance has seen a series of developments, from innovations in data and measurement to outflows from sustainability-focused funds and politically motivated attacks, that have spurred practitioners, academics and policymakers alike to examine anew the factors that drive the creation of long-term value.
Join us in person at MSCI on June 4 for a series of conversations that will address current challenges and opportunities in sustainable investing. Together with leaders from finance, academia and business we will:
- Delve into the latest data on sustainability and performance
- Explore divergence in sustainability measurement
- Examine the role of diversity in creating long-term value
- Discuss crosscurrents that have set sustainable finance up for a wave of debate
Panels will feature rapid-fire presentations followed by thought-provoking discussions centered on how participants can navigate the evolving landscape of sustainable finance.
Confirmed Speakers
Carine Smith Ihenacho
Chief Governance and Compliance Officer, Norges Bank Investment Management
Carine is responsible for the governance and compliance area, which includes ownership and responsible investment activities, control and operational risk, compliance and legal services.
She has more than 20 years’ experience as a lawyer, working in both financials and the oil and gas industry, as well as in law firms. She also has extensive board experience.
Carine holds a law degree from the University of Oslo, a Master of Law from Harvard Law School and a Master of Economics from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH)
Limin Yang
Managing Director, Real Assets, Sustainability & Climate Change, CPP Investments
Limin is a Managing Director at CPP Investments, which manages over C$575 billion assets under management for the Canada Pension Plan by investing across all major asset classes.
He heads the Real Assets and Sustainability Risk Group and is a voting member of both the Real Assets Investment Committee and the Sustainable Investing Committee. Before joining CPP Investments in 2007, Limin spent 5 years with RBC Financial Group in Market Risk and prior to that 5 years as a corporate banker in China. Limin earned a bachelor’s degree from Shanghai University of International Business and Economics and an MBA from Schulich School of Business.
Sharon Hendricks
Professor, Los Angeles City College, and Board Member, California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS)
Sharon Hendricks, a communication studies faculty member at Los Angeles City College for nearly two decades, was elected to the Teachers’ Retirement Board in 2011.
While on the board, Hendricks served as board chair and vice chair. She has advocated for the development of investment beliefs, transparency on investment fees, and sustainable investing principles focused on mitigating risks related to climate change and employee wellness factors at companies within the CalSTRS Investment Portfolio.
Hendricks also serves on the board of the Principles for Responsible Investing—a global organization focused on incorporating environmental, social and governance factors in investment decisions and active ownership. In addition, she serves on the working group for the Trustee Leadership Forum, part of the Initiative for Responsible Investment at Harvard Kennedy School, chairs the American Federation of Teachers Trustee Council and partners in convening the California Trustee Network.
Olivier Souliac
Head of Indexing, Xtrackers Products, DWS
Olivier Souliac joined DWS in 2006. Prior to his current role, Olivier was in the Strategic Beta team within Passive Asset Management, taking responsibility for Fixed Income.
Before that, he developed systematically managed funds, with focus on fixed income solutions for institutional clients, in the structured and index funds division. Olivier holds a MSc in Engineering Science from Ecole Centrale Paris and a Master’s Degree in Financial Mathematics from Technical University of Berlin.
Kelly Shue
Professor of Finance, Yale School of Management
Kelly Shue serves as a professor of Finance at the School of Management, Yale University.
Her academic interests lie at the intersection of behavioral economics and empirical corporate finance. Her research has explored executive social networks, compensation and promotions, sequential decision errors, M&A, corporate social responsibility, persuasion in corporate financial reporting, and errors in voting. Her research has been featured in numerous news outlets including CNN, NPR, and the Wall Street Journal, and has been awarded the AQR Insight Award, the Wharton School-WRDS Award for Best Empirical Finance Paper, and the UBS Global Asset Management Award for Research in Investments. Before joining Yale, Professor Shue taught MBA Corporate Finance at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.
Reena Aggarwal
Robert E. McDonough Professor of Finance and Director, Georgetown Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy
Professor Aggarwal is a globally renowned expert in the field of finance, with a focus on global financial markets.
This includes: market regulation; short term funding markets; IPOs; capital raising; ETFs; corporate governance including proxy voting, executive compensation, and director elections; role of institutional investors; ESG attributes of firms; and FinTech, digital assets, and Central Bank Digital Currencies. Dr. Aggarwal has had tremendous impact at the intersection of financial markets and policy both through her research and also by leading the Georgetown Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy. She combines rigorous data-driven scholarship with deep knowledge of the institutional workings and regulation of financial markets.
Dr. Aggarwal’s expertise extends beyond academia, she has consulted for governments, companies, and organizations such as the IMF, World Bank, UN, IFC, OPIC, IADB, and OECD. She has provided valuable advice to financial institutions, stock exchanges, and securities commissions in several countries. She serves on the boards of for-profit financial firms.
She received a Ph.D. in finance from the University of Maryland and M.M.S. from BITS, India.
Florian Berg
Research Scientist, MIT Sloan School of Management, and Co-Founder, The Aggregate Confusion Project
Florian is a research scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management where he cofounded the Aggregate Confusion Project.
His research interest covers sustainable investing with a focus on ESG ratings, the disagreement between different rating agencies, and how it affects investors, firms, as well as academic research.
He earned a PhD in economics from Paris-Dauphine University. During my PhD ,he held a visiting research position at ETH Zurich. He also worked as a quantitative researcher at Amundi Asset Management and as a quantitative strategist/ trader at Alphadyne Asset Management.
Ulrich Atz
Research Fellow, Center for Sustainable Business, New York University’s Stern School of Business
Ulrich Atz is a Research Fellow at the Center for Sustainable Business and part of the NYU Stern Doctoral Program in Accounting.
In his prior role as Associate Researcher, he provided quantitative expertise and co-authored the article on the Return on Sustainability Investment (honored with a “best paper” award). His research interests cover sustainability disclosures and ESG information, financial and business innovation, and statistical methods for interpreting data.
He also served as the Chief Measurement & Technology Officer at NYU’s HUMAN Project, a research platform and mHealth startup until its launch as a private company. Before moving to New York City, he worked at the Open Data Institute (ODI), a world-leading organization advocating for the innovative use of open data. He holds a Diploma (BSc + MSc) in Economics from the University of Mannheim and an MSc in Social Research Methods (Statistics) from the London School of Economics.
Daniel Rourke
Head of ESG Integration, J.P. Morgan Private Bank
Daniel Rourke is the Head of ESG Integration for J.P. Morgan’s US Private Bank. In this role, he works with the portfolio manager and manager selection teams to incorporate environmental, social and governance factors into their investment processes.
Daniel has two decades of experience in both public and private sector investment management roles, most recently as ESG Research Director at Calvert Research and Management. Before that, he held leadership positions in federal credit programs at the US Department of Agriculture and US Treasury Department focused on rebuilding aging infrastructure and growing small business lending.
He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin—Madison, master’s degree from The George Washington University and holds a Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting (FSA) credential from the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).
Jon Hale
former Head of Sustainability Research, Morningstar
Jon Hale, was head of sustainability research for Morningstar. He directed the company’s research initiatives on sustainable investing, beginning with the launch of the Morningstar Sustainability Ratings for funds in 2016.
Before assuming this role in 2016, Hale was director of manager research, North America, for Morningstar, where he led approximately 60 manager research analysts based in North America and oversaw the team’s operations, thought leadership, and manager research coverage across asset classes. Jon holds a bachelor’s degree, with honors, from the University of Oklahoma and a doctorate in political science from Indiana University.
Paula Luff
Director of Sustainability Research and Engagement, DSC Meridian Capital
Paula is the Director of ESG Research and Engagement at DSC Meridian Capital where she is responsible for integrating ESG within the investment process and leading DSC Meridian’s engagement with portfolio companies on ESG matters.
Prior to joining DSC, she served as Director of Sustainability and Impact for Inherent Group, an ESG-focused investment manager.Paula holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and master’s degrees from New York University and the New School University.
Paula serves on the Board of the Access to Nutrition Foundation. She is also on the University of Wisconsin International Division’s Advisory Board and is an Advisor to the Center for Sustainable Business at NYU’s Stern School of Business.
Mamadou-Abou Sarr
Co-Founder & President, V-Square Quantitative Management
Mamadou is the co-Founder and President of V-Square Quantitative Management, a subsidiary of Valor Equity Partners.
Mamadou co-Founded V-Square in 2020 after an accomplished career in asset management whilst working for global financial services company across the U.S., Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
He has over twenty years of experience in asset management. Previously, Mamadou worked for HSBC Global Asset Management, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Amundi Alternative Investments and Citi in trading, product specialist and business development roles in London, Paris, Abu Dhabi and Dakar.
Mamadou is a Certified Investment Fund Director (CIFD) by the CIFD Institute. Mamadou received his bachelor’s in economics from the Universite Paris- Saclay and holds a master’s in International project management from the European School of Management (ESCP), Paris.
Matthew Sekol
Global ESG and Sustainability Advisor, Microsoft
Matt is a Sustainability Global Black Belt at Microsoft, serving as an ESG Advisor to companies.
He brings over 20 years of experience improving technology and operations by translating market needs into leading-edge products across industries. He also serves on the LP Advisory Committee of Morgan Stanley’s Next Level Fund, which invests in diverse led and founded startups. Matt has contributed to whitepapers on ESG topics like biodiversity and ESG data quality and has presented on the intersection of ESG and technology in higher education.
Moderators
Linda-Eling Lee
Founding Director, MSCI Sustainability Institute
Rumi Mahmood
Research Director, MSCI Sustainability Institute
Agenda
1:30 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Registration and welcome
2:00 p.m. – 2:10 p.m.
Opening remarks
Linda-Eling Lee, Founding Director, MSCI Sustainability Institute
2:10 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.
What’s Up with Sustainability and Performance?
The rise in sustainable investing has brought with it a range of academic research examining the relationship between the integration of sustainability into investment decision-making and long-term financial returns. This panel will focus on how academic researchers are assessing the relationship between sustainability and financial performance, perspectives from investors and companies, and how it influences our evolving understanding of the drivers of long-term value.
Moderator:
Linda-Eling Lee, Founding Director, MSCI Sustainability Institute
Speakers:
Ulrich Atz, Research Fellow, Center for Sustainable Business, New York University’s Stern School of Business
Daniel Rourke, Head of ESG Integration, J.P. Morgan Private Bank
Kelly Shue, Professor of Finance, Yale School of Management
Olivier Souliac, Head of Indexing, Xtrackers Products, DWS
2:50 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Sustainability Ratings: Can We Agree to Disagree?
Though divergence in sustainability ratings may sound like a recipe for confusion, the differences themselves can equip investors with information. This panel will focus on why sustainability ratings differ and how risk-minded owners and managers of assets draw on those differences and the data that underlines them to inform their view of companies.
Moderator:
Jon Hale, former Head of Sustainability Research, Morningstar
Speakers:
Florian Berg, Research Scientist, MIT Sloan School of Management, and Co-Founder, The Aggregate Confusion Project
Carine Smith Ihenacho, Chief Governance and Compliance Officer, Norges Bank Investment Management
Limin Yang, Managing Director, Real Assets, Sustainability & Climate Change, CPP Investments
3:30 p.m. – 3:40 p.m.
Break
3:40 p.m. – 4:20 p.m.
From Boardroom to Bottom Line: What Do We Know about Diversity and Value Creation?
The benefits of diversity are rooted in the aim that access to a greater pool of talent can improve decision-making and guard against groupthink. Such efforts, however, have come under the microscope following a ruling last year by the U.S. Supreme Court that race in university admissions is not a compelling state interest and a series of academic studies that paint a mixed picture on ties between diversity (especially in the boardroom and C-suite) and corporate performance. This conversation will focus on what the evidence does (and does not) tell us about building a workplace that looks like society and how the learnings may help both companies and investors in shaping their strategies.
Moderator:
Rumi Mahmood, Research Director, MSCI Sustainability Institute
Speakers:
Reena Aggarwal, Robert E. McDonough Professor of Finance and Director, Georgetown Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy
Paula Luff, Director of Sustainability Research and Engagement, DSC Meridian Capital
Mamadou-Abou Sarr, Co-Founder and President, V-Square Quantitative Management
Matthew Sekol, Global ESG and Sustainability Advisor, Microsoft
4:20 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sustainable Finance in the Mirror
The lion’s share of big investors in every region say that consideration of sustainability factors in investment decision-making offers a more holistic view of risk to support better-informed decision. But that hasn’t prevented net outflows from sustainability focused funds, stopped investors from staying mum about progress or silenced critics who have sought to politicize this particular facet of fiduciary investing. Together we will aim to untangle the contradictions and make sense of the dichotomy between attitudes and actions.
Speakers:
Sharon Hendricks, Professor, Los Angeles City College, and Board Member, California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS)
Linda-Eling Lee, Founding Director, MSCI Sustainability Institute
5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Networking over drinks and light fare
About the MSCI Sustainability Institute
The MSCI Sustainability Institute is on a mission to drive progress by capital markets to create sustainable value and tackle global challenges such as climate change. We aim to align data, analysis, policy, and action. We do this by drawing upon MSCI’s experience and expertise as a leading provider of sustainability data and metrics to the investment industry to connect leaders from across finance, academia, business, policymaking and society.