New York Life Investments announced today the U.S. launch of the CANDRIAM Academy, a sustainable investing education resource targeted to financial advisors and intermediaries with the goal of raising their awareness, education and knowledge on the topic of sustainable and responsible investing.

The CANDRIAM Academy was launched in Europe in 2017, and has conducted over 8,000 hours of training to 4,000 members in 15 countries. The U.S. Academy will be composed of 8 modules covering a broad range of sustainable investing topics. The platform is free to access and accredited, and participants completing the academy will receive two continuing education credits.

Highlighting the need for sustainable investment education among advisors and intermediaries, New York Life Investments reported results from its research, which found that while most investors identify as “values-driven,” only 35% are aware of sustainable investing, and most rely on advisors to play the biggest role in determining their investments.

CANDRIAM, an affiliate of New York Life, is a boutique and global multi-specialist asset manager focused on sustainable investing. In addition to the Academy, CANDRIAM has been involved in other sustainable investment education initiatives, including a partnership announced last week with the London School of Economics and Political Science’s (LSE) Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (GRI) to form the “Sustainability, Investment, Inclusion and Impact” (SI3) Initiative.

Commenting on today’s launch, Yie-Hsin Hung, CEO of New York Life Investment Management, said:

“Education is the bedrock of effective investment management, and our mission is to close the pronounced information gap in sustainable investing by providing high-quality, actionable tools and resources to help investors and advisors learn the essentials of ESG – especially as ESG funds have generated strong performance and record inflows during this most recent market environment. We are thrilled to leverage CANDRIAM’s sustainable investing legacy and insight to enable our clients to better understand the rapidly growing ESG market and build more meaningful and lasting relationships with investors who increasingly identify as ‘values-driven.’”

Expanding on the demand for sustainable investing education, Naïm Abou-Jaoudé, CEO of CANDRIAM and Chairman of New York Life Investments International, added:

“As sustainable investing becomes gradually more mainstream in the U.S., improving education is crucial to provide financial advisors, intermediaries and end investors the necessary tools and insight to understand and evaluate ESG strategies. We are excited to introduce our Academy to the U.S. market to empower advisors to more effectively engage with their clients on how and why sustainable investing can enhance their portfolios over the long-term while aligning with their values.”