To position itself as a thought leader in ESG investing, CFA Society Spain collaborated with IE University and Impact Bridge to organise its first annual sustainability event. The event, hosted on 16 March at the IE Tower in Madrid, analyzed the past, present and future of sustainable and impact investing in Spain.

Featuring several top-level speakers, a panel debated sustainability challenges, opportunities and solutions in the asset management industry today. It discussed the importance of integrating ethics into sustainable investing to ensure the integrity of markets and avoid greenwashing and impact washing. CFA Society Spain used the event to promote the Certificate in ESG Investing and highlighted that the certificate can help to build bridges so that knowledge reaches investors and society.

The panel emphasised that quality impact investing has the potential to contribute to solving some of the biggest challenges facing society and sustainability regulation must be flexible and adapt to the times. It included members of the Sustainability Committee of CFA Society Spain: Augusto Caro, CFA, Cad, Global Head of ESG at Santander Asset Management; Juan Elorduy, CFA, CAd, Partner Elona Capital; Pablo Bascones, Partner Responsible for Sustainability at PWC; and Íñigo Serrats, CFA, Managing Partner and co-founder of Impact Bridge.

José Luis de Mora, CFA, president of CFA Society Spain, stated: "Sustainability has become a fundamental pillar of the work of investment professionals. To face this challenge, we must train ourselves as well as possible, because goodwill is not enough, we must have common and accepted criteria. As a result of this need and strengthening the integrity of the markets, our ESG Investing certification is born." 

The event engaged a wide audience and was featured in Funds Society, a leading Spanish language publication.