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Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation

Agenda Program Online
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Online
Available exclusively as online training
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Price of online training
N/A
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Lecturer
N/A
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Language
English
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Evaluation
N/A
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Attend this training course and learn about:

Definitions and general provisions
Transparency of adverse sustainability impacts
Pre-contractual product disclosure
Website product disclosure
Product disclosure in periodic reports
Background

Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures (SFDR) is a pillar of the EU sustainable finance agenda. SFDR aims to increase the transparency of financial market participants towards end-investors and contribute to the objective of fighting greenwashing. It lays down sustainability disclosure obligations regarding the environmental and social impact of an entity’s investment decisions, and requirements on how to present the characteristics of sustainable investment products.

The regulation comes into effect in two phases. Its high-level requirements apply since March 2021 and they will be complemented by more prescriptive technical standards, which were due to apply from 1 January 2022. Implementing SFDR represents a momentous change for the industry. This new, far-reaching regulation will change the way firms integrate ESG considerations in, and present information about, investment decisions and product features.

For many it also carries significant costs, interpretation questions and implementation challenges. Over time, disclosures will evolve alongside the methodologies to assess sustainability factors and the availability of ESG data from investee companies. Keeping up with the fast pace of market and regulatory developments around transparency requirements will require ongoing training for leaders and practitioners in the financial industry.

About the course

The course aims to provide participants with all the necessary tools to understand the rationale, content and application of the requirements introduced by SFDR and its technical standards. It will seek to answer the key interpretation questions and address the main implementation challenges.

The objective of the course is to provide answers to the key questions on the implementation of SFDR. Guidance is focused on applying the Regulation in the interim period between 10 March 2021 and 1 January 2022 (or deferred date of 1 July 2022) and ensuring preparedness ahead of the next application phases.

The course is introduced by an overview and follows the structure of the regulation. The first module covers the entity-level transparency requirements and is followed by two modules focusing on product-level disclosure made in pre-contractual documents, websites and periodic reports.

Program of the seminar: Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation

The seminar timetable follows Central European Time (CET).

09.00 - 09.10 Welcome and Introduction

09.10 - 12.15

Introduction: The Sustainability-disclosures regulation

  • Overview: understanding the context and objectives
  • Definitions, general provisions and enforcement
  • Implementation guidelines: the interim period and a ‘best effort’ approach
  • Application timeline and next steps: phased implementation and further reviews

Module 1: Transparency of adverse-sustainability impacts

  • The principle of double materiality
  • The principal adverse sustainability impacts statement, indicators and calculation periods
  • Transparency of sustainability risk policies and remuneration policies

Module 2: Pre-contractual product disclosure

  • Information for all financial products
  • The scope of Article 8 and the meaning of ‘promotion’ of ESG characteristics
  • Criteria for product classification: binding elements and sustainability objectives
  • Reporting on asset allocation and identification of PAI considerations
  • Do no significant harm section and calculation of taxonomy-alignment

12.15 - 13.15 Lunch Break

13.15 - 17.00

Module 3: Website product disclosure and periodic reports

  • Website product disclosures: reference periods and requirements
  • Data sources and processing; limitation to methodologies and data
  • Reporting for MIFID portfolios and other tailored products
  • Presentation and content requirements for periodic reports
  • Reference periods and historic comparisons

Concluding remarks

  • Integration of ESG considerations in MiFID II, UCITS & AIFMD
  • Considerations on the application of SFDR for ETFs providers
  • Phased-in implementation, evaluation and further reviews

Termination of the seminar

Upcoming seminars in our training calendar
Training catalogue in PDF
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