LONDON, 9 September 2014 – The world’s leading responsible investment education business, the Responsible Investment Academy, will move to a new home with the Principles for Responsible Investment in the coming weeks, enhancing its global reach across the investment and finance community.
The PRI’s acquisition of the RI Academy follows its successful incubation and roll-out by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia, whose achievement in developing a rigorous curriculum was recognised when it received CFA Institute accreditation in 2012. The three courses – RI Essentials, RI Fundamentals and Enhanced Financial Analysis – continue to fill a critical market gap in the education of investment professionals about environmental, social and governance issues.The RI Academy has trained 1,200 investment professionals across 40 countries in 210 companies since its launch in 2010.
CEO of the Responsible Investment Association Australasia, Simon O’Connor said: “The RI Academy has truly come of age, with record demand in the most recent year as asset managers and owners continue to embed responsible investment practices, with training being a critical step in this journey. It’s very pleasing to now see the RI Academy safely into its next growth phase with the PRI, positioning it well to extend ESG training to the global investment industry. We are proud that the PRI has recognised the RI Academy as the best platform to deliver this training.”
PRI Managing Director Fiona Reynolds said: “While a great deal of the PRI’s work is already educational in nature, the integration of a formal, accredited training programme will create new opportunities for learning and development by our signatories and help cement the PRI’s status as a global hub for responsible investment. The RI Academy occupies a leading position in the industry and we look forward to integrating the course material with other PRI initiatives and enhancing the content with our global perspective.”
The PRI will continue delivering the high level of service for candidates currently undertaking RI Academy courses, and will shortly be expanding the offering across PRI members. RIAA members will continue to receive the benefits of access to the RI Academy, and existing partnerships with the Responsible Investment Association Canada and Association of Responsible and Sustainable Investment Asia will be retained for their members’ benefit.The acquisition will be completed in September in time for PRI In Person in Montréal.
Media contacts:
Joy Frascinella
Head of PR, Principles for Responsible Investment
+44 (0) 20 3714 3143
joy.frascinella@unpri.org
Simon O’Connor
CEO, Responsible Investment Association Australasia
+61 401 360 500
simonoc@responsibleinvestment.org
