Global asset manager Candriam has tied up with the Dubai International Financial Centre to offer a free digital course on sustainable and responsible investing.
Accredited by the Dubai Legal Affairs Department, the certified course is provided by the Candriam Academy, the firm’s training platform, and is targeted at both retail and institutional investors.
It includes eight modules that teach retail investors about impact investing and will help them to identify companies that are following ESG standards by looking at their impact on the environment and position on social issues such as diversity and inclusion, labour standards and gender pay gaps.
“Besides the wider financial community, sustainable investing is a topic that has attracted considerable interest from university students, investment media as well as public and private sector workers who want to learn more about the impact of their organisations on the whole ecosystem,” said Chafic Jabbour, head of Mena at Candriam, which is a subsidiary of insurer New York Life.
The Covid-19 pandemic has served as a wake-up call to many investors about the importance of factoring environmental considerations into their investment decisions.
Flows into ESG funds in Europe ballooned to €233 billion ($282.4bn) last year, up from €126bn in the prior year, according to Morningstar. Flows into US sustainable funds more than doubled to $51bn, from $21.4bn a year earlier.
Meanwhile, impact investing is expected to drive the next wave of growth in sustainable finance and investor engagement on sustainability issues will be more influential than regulation, according to a recently published report on sustainable finance trends in 2021 by investment manager UBS.
“Sustainability is no longer just a talking point, but also a catalyst for action,” Ralph Hamers, group chief executive of UBS, said in the report. “Investors and companies should seek to get ahead of this transformation if they wish to navigate 21st century risks and opportunities effectively.”
The Sustainable and Responsible Investment course can be accessed via the DIFC Academy's website.
Match info
Deccan Gladiators 87-8
Asif Khan 25, Dwayne Bravo 2-16
Maratha Arabians 89-2
Chadwick Walton 51 not out
Arabians won the final by eight wickets
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
Scoreline:
Everton 4
Richarlison 13'), Sigurdsson 28', Digne 56', Walcott 64'
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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