Interest in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investment has exploded in recent years, bringing with it regulation and a requirement for buy-side firms to develop ESG strategies and meet disclosure obligations. The sell-side can help here by integrating ESG data with traditional financial information, although the compliance burden remains with asset managers.

The EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) came into effect recently on 10 March 2021 introducing new rules for how investment managers need to incorporate and disclose on sustainability risks. While SFDR will not be implemented as is in the UK, the UK government intends to at least match its requirements. On this basis, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is expected to consult on a UK regime for ESG disclosure this year, before rolling out regulation in 2022.

This webinar will cover:

• Key compliance requirements of the EU’s SFDR
• Differences between the EU and expected UK approach
• Challenges of compliance for asset managers
• Response of investment banks and brokers
• Actions that asset managers should be taking now
• Helpful technology services and solutions

Speakers:

More about our speakers:

Jean-Pierre Gomez
Head of Regulatory and Public Affairs
Societe Generale Securities Services

Jean Pierre Gomez is Head of Regulatory & Public Affairs at Societe Generale Securities Services in Luxembourg.

In this role, he is responsible for developing the business strategy and the visibility of SGSS in Luxembourg.

He has 25 years of experience in the investment funds industry. Prior to joining SGSS in 2009, Jean Pierre held several senior positions in collective investment, custody and fund administration, worked as consultant for 3 years and served as director for a number of fund management companies and funds.

He has substantial and extensive client management experience covering a broad range of fund administration services (including the core services of custody, fund accounting and transfer agency), compliance and funds
corporate services.

Jean-Pierre contributes actively to ALFI and LPEA working groups, the Luxembourg funds industry trade associations aiming at promoting Luxembourg as main European Centre for investment funds. He is also a lecturer at the Luxembourg Institute for Training in Banking (House of Training).

He is a regular speaker at international seminars and conferences and was involved in MiFID II workshops organized by Markus FERBER at the European Parliament in 2015 and 2016.

Vanessa Barnett
Senior Vice President, Global Head of Environmental, Social, and Governance
FactSet

Ms. Vanessa Barnett is Senior Vice President, Global Head of Environmental, Social, and Governance at FactSet. In this role, she is responsible for FactSet’s overall ESG content strategy, working closely with Product Strategy teams across the enterprise to meet the evolving and complex client demand for industry-leading ESG solutions. Prior to this role, she spent eleven years at Dow Jones & Company where she was the head of product strategy for the global Dow Jones Newswires product line. Ms. Barnett earned a B.S. in Computer Science from Columbia University.

Adrian Whelan
Senior Vice President and Head of Regulatory Intelligence for Investor Services
Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH)

Adrian Whelan is a Senior Vice President and Head of Regulatory Intelligence for Investor Services at Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH), based in Dublin. In this role, he is responsible for articulating the impact of regulatory change on asset managers and the industry in which they operate. Mr. Whelan is the lead contributor to BBH’s On The Regs blog, where he regularly shares insights on global regulatory topics. Mr. Whelan is active in the Investment Company Institute, the International Securities Lending Association, Irish Funds and Investment Association, and other global industry bodies and working groups focused on education and advocacy for regulatory and policy changes impacting the asset management and banking industries. Mr. Whelan is a champion of the Dublin chapter of BBH’s Young Professionals Network and is active in the firm’s Asia Link Network and Pride Network. Adrian holds a degree in Business Studies from Dublin City University.

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