The programme retains a practical and applied approach, and the student will be equipped with a deeper and more fundamental understanding of the dilemmas that arise where financial analyses meet sustainability.
As a student you will explore methods and skills that enable you to include ESG in well-founded financial analyses. The benefits are many, particularly as this is a field where the need for essential ESG-information faces many challenges due to a general lack of standards and the very speed with which this field has developed.
You will become part of a network of highly professional and experienced students and lecturers, where peer-learning and chared knowledge and experiences are essential tools.
Who is the programme for?
The Sustainable Financial Analytics programme is designed for experienced professionals with an interest in how to integrate sustainability in financial assessments.
Relevant professional backgrounds include
- analysts, portfolio managers, CFOs, accountants, investors, rating analysts as well as advisors, journalists and regulators
The programme is particularly suitable for Norwegian and Scandinavian applicants but welcomes applicants from outside the Nordic region as well. Applicants are required to have at least three years of relevant work experience as well as a basic knowledge of sustainable finance.
FFN offers an introductory course in sustainable finance where needed (in Norwegian). Read more here: FFNs kurs i bærekraftig finans
What you learn
The Sustainable Financial Analytics Programme is organised in three sessions covering three parts. The first part focuses on current challenges and sustainable business models, materiality analysis and reporting.
Part two integrates sustainability in financial valuation using traditional valuation models as a starting point. The third part focuses on how to best include sustainability in Portfolio Management; both on a more general level, and for the most important asset classes.
The group based assignment, which will be discussed in full in a separate third and final session, integrates the knowledge and information from the two previous sessions and is an essential part of the programme.
The first session:
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- Sustainable business models, materiality and reporting
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- Integrated valuation using ESG metrics
The programme’s starting point will be topics related to the nature and characteristics of more sustainable business models We will discuss the opportunities and challenges of sustainability reporting, and discuss the identification, prioritization, measurement and reporting of ESG factors, as well as EU Taxonomy and other key international standards.
The second part of this session offers an integrated perspective on valuation that incorporates externalities that can cause sudden shocks to a company’s cash flows, lead to stranded assets, and force losses in the company’s productive value. . The goal of this part of the course is to explore ways of internalizing the inherent uncertainty about environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues into a company’s valuation.
The second session
Based on an understanding of fundamental sustainability concepts and criteria, as well as how these are measured and included in valuation models, the second session covers how to apply this in a portfolio management context.
Understanding how sustainability could be integrated in portfolio management includes a recap of the core portfolio theory models, based on the trade-off between risk and return, with topics like the CAPM, factor models and market efficiency, proceeding to discussing how to create portfolios according to different investment styles, and how to evaluate their performance. We will look into different ESG strategies used by portfolio managers.
We will cover how sustainability could enter the analysis and investment into other asset classes, e.g. fixed income/credit, real estate, private equity, and impact investments, as well as performance measurement and implementation challenges.
The final part of this session prepares the students for the group projects that will be discussed in the final session.
The third and final session
The last session will focus on discussing the group assignments. Sustainable finance is a complex field with a particular need for well-founded and balanced discussions. Each assignment will be presented and discussed by students, lecturers and invited experts and contributors in the field.
After completing the programme, candidates are expected to have achieved the following
overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:
Knowledge
The candidate has in-depth knowledge of:
- the main sustainability issues and their relevance to financial analysis and decision making
- the principles and main references for reporting and documenting sustainability issues
at company, investment and portfolio levels - sustainability risks and opportunities which are relevant for financial analysis in
general, and in particular in a portfolio management context
Skills
The candidate is capable of:
- extracting and applying the significant and material information about sustainability
for financial analysis conveyed by a company or other relevant sources regarding
sustainability to do advanced valuation of companies, financial instruments and other
assets that fully reflect the relevant sustainability risks and opportunities - specifying and analysing, as well as applying the principles for implementation of
optimal investment portfolio management reflecting the relevant and material
sustainability issues.
General competence
The candidate is capable of:
- communicating at an advanced level with specialists in both academia and practice
about complex issues on understanding and recognizing material sustainability topics
when conducting financial analysis.
| Aksel Mjøs | Programme Director and Head of Department of Finance, NHH |
| José Albuquerque de Sousa | Assistant Professor of Finance |
| Sveinung Jørgensen | Associate Professor in Sustainable Business |
| Lars Jacob Tynes Pedersen | Professor and Co-Head of the Centre for Sustainable Business |
| Ibrahim Pelja | Head of ESG and Sustainability, Gabler AS and PhD, NHH |
| Annie Bersagel | Portfolio Manager ESG, Folketrygdfondet |
| Melanie Brooks | Portfolio Manager and Head of ESG, Fondsfinans Kapitalforvaltning |
| Ulf G. Erlandsson | Founder/Chief executive, Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute |
| Are Jansrud | Chief Compliance Officer, Sparebank 1 Østlandet |
| Laurens Swinkels | Executive Director at Robeco and Associate Professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam |
| Isabelle Juillard Thompsen | Portfolio Manager at DNB Asset Management |
The list of lecturers is not complete
The programme includes eight full days of learning, organised into two weekends of three full days , and a two day final session where students present, defend and discuss their group reports.
The programme is demanding, and completing the programme requires significant efforts from the participants through self-study and participation in groups.
The assessment method is a group based written assignment where the aim is to integrate knowledge and information from lectures, presentations and discussions throughout the programme, and apply this to a valuation of a company or a financial instrument, a portfolio construction, portfolio analysis, or other topics that include sustainability in valuation, or assessment of portfolios.
The assignments will be presented and discussed in a separate two-day session at the end of the programme (November 2023).
Grading: Pass/Fail 7,5 ECTS Credits
The applicant must have a University degree or vocational education with a scope of at least three years.
Relevant professional backgrounds include being an investor, analyst, banker, advisor, lawyer, or working in a company’s treasury or finance function, journalist, regulator, or rating analyst.
The programme is targeted towards experienced Norwegian and primarily Nordic students with a professional interest in how to better understand the sustainability dimensions when approaching financial tasks Applicants from outside Scandinavia are welcome to apply.
Applicants are required to have at least three years of relevant work experience.
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I participated in the sustainable financial analysis programme by FFN and NHH. It was both interesting and educational and I would highly recommend the programme for those who want to have a deeper insight into sustainability perspectives, particularly in corporate analyses and valuation. The programme is also an excellent arena to meet peers from the industry with and interest in sustainability. Jørn-
I have taken both the AFA program and the Corporate Finance program before enrolling in the program on Sustainability. As one of Norway’s largest issuers of green bonds, I hoped to broaden my perspective on sustainability and finance. I experience to have my perspective and my competence expanded, in an area in rapid change. The work with the thesis was very useful, and the lecturers and fellow students were constantly engaged with useful comments on issues and new perspectives.
The programme (in sustainable financial analysis) is a significant add-on to the toolbox in my profession as an equity fund manager. While covering relevant theoretical concepts and empirical research in the field of sustainability, there is ample emphasis on how to apply and integrate this into company and portfolio analysis. The sessions are very interactive and led by a diverse mix of highly enthusiastic academics and practitioners. The course digs into the essential field of sustainability while sharpening the ability to differentiate buzzwords and greenwashing from material topics. Outsourcing ESG-analysis is really no option for active managers. This programme helps me not only to understanding the theoretical framework and lingo but also to identify and integrate important issues into financial analysis.
The course I took at NHH in Sustainable Financial Analysis gave me a unique insight into the risks and the opportunities when dealing with ESG in finance. What I appreciated the most was still the many interesting discussions we had during the program over the many dilemmas sustainable finance touches upon.