This course is part of the ESG Investing: Financial Decisions in Flux Specialization

4.5
stars
15 ratings

Steven Levine

Offered By

ESG Investing: Financial Decisions in Flux SpecializationInteractive Brokers

About this Course

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In this course, we’ll introduce students with basic knowledge of traditional financial products to data-driven resources they can use to complement their fundamental analysis. We’ll also highlight certain deceptive marketing practices that can paint a rosier picture of addressing ESG-related concerns than may actually be the case.
Moreover, many corporations appear to be growing increasingly aware of the values of the millennial generation, who, according to some industry surveys, appear to account for the vast majority of those who cite ESG as a central goal in their investment plans.

We’ll dive more deeply into these topics, and through a series of video, webinar, and reading modules, among other objectives, you’ll learn to explain how Big Data and artificial intelligence may be used for actionable accountability, and describe inherent challenges in data analysis, as well as differentiate between different forms of deceptive business practices, including green washing, social washing, and pink washing, You’ll also be able to provide insights about how millennial, and younger, investors’ interests may be driving increased attention on ESG investing.

Flexible deadlines

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

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Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

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Course 4 of 4 in the

ESG Investing: Financial Decisions in Flux Specialization

Beginner Level

Previous investment experience is helpful but not required.

Approx. 20 hours to complete

English

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What you will learn

Draw conclusions about how Big Data and artificial intelligence can aid in ESG investing analysis, and describe inherent challenges.
Differentiate between different forms of deceptive business practices, including green washing, social washing, and pink washing.
Detail how certain investors’ interests may be driving increased attention on ESG investing.
Explain why ESG remains a work in progress and list some anticipated developments.

Skills you will gain

Data collection and analysis
ESG ratings
sentiment signals
ESG investing disclosures
Green washing

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Coursera Labs

Includes hands on learning projects.

Learn more about Coursera Labs

Course 4 of 4 in the

ESG Investing: Financial Decisions in Flux Specialization

Beginner Level

Previous investment experience is helpful but not required.

Approx. 20 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4/5 (5 Ratings)

Steven Levine

Senior Market Analyst

44,410 Learners

8 Courses

Offered by

Interactive Brokers

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Week1

Week 1

2 hours to complete

Using Advanced Technology for Further Analysis

As conducting fundamental analysis on ESG-related issues can be quite a daunting task – especially given the massive amounts of variables that may be considered relevant – many companies and organizations have been working to establish more advanced, technological tools and scoring systems to aid in the effort. For example, certain companies, including Refinitiv, Morningstar’s Sustainalytics, FactSet-owned Truvalue Labs, and MSCI, among others, may employ artificial intelligence, with machine learning, natural language processing (NLP) and sentiment analysis algorithms to help arrive at data that may assist in ESG investing analysis. In this module, we will take a broad look at the landscape of how Big Data and certain impact tools can help guide you through making investments in the ESG space.

2 hours to complete

2 videos (Total 5 min), 3 readings, 1 quiz

Week2

Week 2

1 hour to complete

Exploring Investment Sentiment Signals: Industry Insights from Sentifi (Parts 1-3)

In the following webinar, “Making Informed Investment Decisions with Alternative Data “, you’ll learn how less traditional financial sources – namely investment signals from social media, news, and blogs increasingly offer meaningful insights on market momentum shifts as they occur. Among other features in this presentation, Marina Goche, chief executive officer at alternative data provider Sentifi, evaluates what constitutes “good data” for investment decision-making, how alternative data stacks up, and key considerations in selecting alternative data sources to make informed investment decisions. Goche also walks through certain characteristics of alternative data quality such as reliability, granularity, timeliness, and actionability, and how these may be used to inform investors’ buy, sell, and hold decisions.

1 hour to complete

3 videos (Total 20 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

Week3

Week 3

6 hours to complete

Exploring Investment Sentiment Signals: Industry Insights from Sentifi (Parts 4-6)

The “Making Informed Investment Decisions with Alternative Data” webinar continues with Marina Goche, CEO of Sentifi, illustrating how alternative data may close the timeliness gap with traditional data sets, how investment sentiment signals from ESG events may impact asset valuations, such as a company’s stock price, and explores how investors may rebalance a portfolio using investment sentiment signals based on ESG events.

6 hours to complete

3 videos (Total 16 min), 4 readings, 2 quizzes

3 videos

Closing the Timeliness Gap5m ESG Events & Asset Valuations5mPortfolio Rebalancing4m

4 readings

CNBC - Nestle and Cargill win child slavery case at Supreme Court (June 2021)10mNestlé - Creating Shared Value Report (2020)2hNestlé - How is Nestlé tackling child labor risk 25mStanford Social Innovation (July 2021)10m

1 practice exercise

Exploring Investment Sentiment Signals: Industry Insights from Sentifi (Parts 4-6) - Quiz30m

Week4

Week 4

1 hour to complete

Exploring Investment Sentiment Signals: Industry Insights from Sentifi (Parts 7-8)

The “Making Informed Investment Decisions with Alternative Data” webinar continues with Marina Goche, CEO of Sentifi, fielding participants’ questions about investment sentiment signals, such as corruption, provides details about how machine learning models can help determine source credibility, and addresses how alternative data may be considered “actionable” when making investment decisions and rebalancing a portfolio. Goche also highlights certain technology features designed to handle Sentifi’s massive volume of alternative data sets.

1 hour to complete

2 videos (Total 14 min)

Week5

Week 5

3 hours to complete

Big Data & Accountability: Industry Insights - Panel Discussion (Parts 1-3)

In the webinar, “ESG Investing: How Big Data Helps Drive Financial Decisions”, panelists from Refinitiv, FactSet-owned Truvalue Labs, Quantum Research Group, and IBKR provide their insights into a wide range of topics, including finding the right balance between technology and human analysis, as well as how much weight to assign to each of the E-S-G factors in terms of materiality. They also offer, among other commentary, how ESG investing and Big Data may evolve over the next 5 to 10 years.

3 hours to complete

3 videos (Total 29 min)

Week6

Week 6

1 hour to complete

Big Data & Accountability: Industry Insights - Panel Discussion (Parts 4-6)

1 hour to complete

3 videos (Total 23 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

Week7

Week 7

4 hours to complete

Big Data & Accountability: Industry Insights - Panel Discussion (Parts 7-8)

The “ESG Investing: How Big Data Helps Drive Financial Decisions” webinar continues with panelists providing their outlook on how ESG investing may evolve over the next 5-10 years, as well as addresses participants’ questions about how Big Data interprets ESG factors, and how ESG data can be used to make more informed investment decisions. Following the webinar, we will also walk-through different forms of deceptive business practices, including green washing, social washing, blue washing, and pink washing, and how companies have historically sought to sidestep controversies, and their associated, potential adverse financial impacts. You’ll learn what forces can help cajole these companies from being held accountable, as well as how regulatory reform may play a key role in eliminating these practices. After completing the videos and webinars in this module, you should be able to discuss, among other topics, how, despite the proliferation of ESG investing-related marketing, products, research, data-driven tools, and inflows into funds, the discipline itself remains subject to a host of unresolved issues, and how conducting due diligence when integrating ESG factors into your financial and credit analyses may ensure whether your investments will be truly aligned with your values.

4 hours to complete

4 videos (Total 22 min), 2 readings, 3 quizzes

4 videos

Thoughts on the Future of ESG Investing10mQ&A: On Use Cases for ESG Data & AI Factor Interpretation3mESG Accountability6mESG Investing: Financial Decisions in Flux – Key Takeaways1m

2 readings

SEC - Coates - On ESG Disclosures10mESG Accountability - Study Notes10m

2 practice exercises

Big Data & Accountability: Industry Insights - Panel Discussion (Parts 7-8) - Quiz30mESG Accountability - Quiz30m

Week8

Week 8

3 hours to complete

Reading Reinforcements

This Reading Reinforcements module explores more in-depth details about data collection, ESG scores, and how artificial intelligence can aid ESG investing practices, as well as specific examples of green washing activity. After completing the lessons that follow, you should be able to draw conclusions about how Big Data and artificial intelligence can aid in ESG investing analysis, as well as provide insights into historical, and more recent, forms of deceptive business practices.

3 hours to complete

1 video (Total 1 min), 12 readings, 1 quiz

1 video

Reading Reinforcements1m

12 readings

S&P Global - How can AI help ESG investing (Feb 2020)10mCorpwatch - A Brief History of Greenwashing (Mar 2001)10mLaw Article - Chevron & Greenwashing25mCaltech - Getting the Lead Out (Sept 2015)10mAtlantic - How Tobacco Companies Contest the Scientific Consensus (May 2016)10mAGCM - Eni Fine (Jan 2020)10mVox - Are plastic Solo cups and Tide containers recyclable - or greenwashed (Aug 2021)10mUSA Today - ESG, Sustainable Investing - Not As Green As Touted (Jan 2021)10mEY - How to realize the full potential of ESG-plus45mFT - ESG outperformance looks set to end, study suggests (July 2021)10mFT - ESG outperformance narrative is flawed, new research shows (May 2021)10mWSJ - Fired Exec Says DB DWS Overstated Sustainable-Investing (Aug 2021)10m

1 practice exercise

S&P Global - How can AI help ESG investing - Quiz35m

Reviews

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TOP REVIEWS FROM ESG DATA & ACCOUNTABILITY

by JBDec 12, 2021

Outstanding specialization! Well compiled materials. 很棒的研讨会！井井有条。Especialización magnífica! Materiales bien organizados. Выдающаяся специализация! Хорошо структурированные материалы.

by BBJul 6, 2022

helpful overview, intro to the current state of the art

View all reviews

About the ESG Investing: Financial Decisions in Flux Specialization

As ESG investing continues to evolve towards a global standard, certain initiatives such as the UN’s sustainable development goals, and the Paris Agreement on climate change, have already spurred significant changes across the financial markets.

As the title of this specialization suggests, financial decisions by investors, as well as capital deployment by companies, organizations, and governments, have been shifting amid increasing attention to environmental, social, and governance-related concerns. By the end of this specialization, students with basic knowledge of traditional financial products (e.g., stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds, commodities) should obtain a solid background on how ESG investing principles originated, and how related governing frameworks, analytical strategies, and investment products are evolving in the financial markets, including a proliferation of various fixed-income instruments and thematic ETFs. Moreover, you'll acquire insights into some of the benefits and drawbacks of Big Data as a complement to fundamental analysis, and how developments in data science, including machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), and sentiment analysis algorithms, may be used for actionable accountability. You will further be able to detail why ESG investing remains a work in progress and list some anticipated developments for its future. We look forward to you joining us! For more information about Interactive Brokers, visit https://ibkr.com

ESG Investing: Financial Decisions in Flux

Frequently Asked Questions

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When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
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ESG Data & Accountability

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