-Under the patronage of the Scottish Government, the 2nd edition of GEFF will spearhead an insightful panel session that focuses on the vast opportunities that come with embracing a long-term sustainable approach instead of an obsession with short-term profits.
Edinburgh, Scotland – 29 June 2017: Middle East Global Advisors, a leading financial intelligence platform spearheading the agenda of sustainable and inclusive finance, will convene the second edition of the much-coveted Global Ethical Finance Forum (GEFF) in Edinburgh, Scotland. Based on a strategic partnership with Islamic Finance Council UK (UKIFC), the Forum will be held under the patronage of the Scottish Government, and will be hosted by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), building upon the legacy of the inaugural Forum held in September 2015.
The theme for GEFF 2017 – “Ethical Finance: Merging Profit & Purpose”, is in line with the Forum’s aspiration to serve as a platform of convergence and collaboration across the responsible finance universe, and to forge a vision for a more inclusive and sustainable financial system.
The Global Financial Crisis (GFC), also considered as the apex of “unsustainable capitalism”, and the subsequent bail-out of too-big-to-fail organizations sent ripples of shock and instability throughout the world. Following the GFC, there was a call greater than ever to focus on a sustainable approach that took long-term profits into account versus the obsession with short-term profits and numbers that culminated in the crisis in the first place. Presently, the financial sector is exhibiting signs of a return to precisely the same risky behavior that led to the GFC, a finding that was echoed in the latest IMF Global Finance Stability Report.
Corporate short-termism, an obsession with short-term profits owing to frequent reporting cycles, has shown to deteriorate firms’ competitiveness, increase systematic risk and reduce the long-term potential of the entire economy. Interestingly as per a recent survey, 65% of executives and directors believed that the short-term pressure had increased over the last 5 years while 55% who worked at companies lacking a strong long-term culture also believed that their company would delay new projects in the race to hit quarterly targets even if it involved sacrificing some value (FCLT Global, 2016). To combat the short-termism in business, Sustainable Capitalism, a conceptual form of capitalism that focuses on long-term financial gains via sustainable means, gained prominence. The manifesto for Sustainable Capitalism, many believe, has been coined by noted American Nobel Peace Prize winner & environmentalist Al Gore.
A recent study by McKinsey Global Institute revealed that from 2001-2014, the revenue of long-term firms cumulatively grew on average 47% more than the revenue of other firms, and with less volatility with long-term firms also showcasing a stronger financial performance over time.
In the light of the numerous disruptive threats the financial world is facing, GEFF 2017 will spearhead an exclusive panel session focusing on the massive potential Sustainable Capitalism harbours. The session aims to assess the social and environmental implications of rehauling the current economic model, the key challenges to mainstreaming sustainable capitalism, and most importantly the key measures that would place the economy on a sustainable path. Some of these measures involve mandatory integrated reporting, ending the quarterly reporting cycle that incentivizes employees to focus on a short-term outlook and aligning compensation structures with long-term sustainable performance. Discussions at GEFF 2017 are premised on the notion that sustainability is a fiduciary issue.
The session will also delve deeper into the strong link between sustainable capitalism and responsible finance, and aim to assess how the latter can tackle growing inequality and social strife.
Across two power-packed days, GEFF 2017 will spearhead a series of sessions focusing on the massive opportunity that lies in mainstreaming ethical finance, one that requires concerted efforts to build meaningful dialogue across its three segments: Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) and Islamic/faith-based finance. The forum aims to drive thought leadership across a wide range of topics including green bonds, financial inclusion, ethical banking, amongst others, with the vision of bringing ethics to the forefront of business.
The forum will take place on 13th and 14th of September at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS)’s prestigious Conference Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland.
To find out more about the 2nd Global Ethical Finance Forum, visit www.geff2017.com
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ABOUT THE GLOBAL ETHICAL FINANCE FORUM (GEFF)
The Global Ethical Finance Forum is an initiative of Middle East Global Advisors and the UK Islamic Finance Council (IFC), two leading institutions spearheading the agenda of sustainable and inclusive economy and of forging connections with the broader ethical finance industry, encompassing Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), and Islamic/faith-based Finance.
At its inaugural edition in September 2015, the vision ascribed to GEFF was to become a catalyst for an all new encompassing form of inclusive finance that connects key stakeholders from the various ethical finance sectors and facilitates previously untapped opportunities for convergence & collaboration.
GEFF 2017 endeavors to play a critical role in enabling stakeholders from the traditional responsible and Islamic finance sectors to forge and nurture new relationships aimed at building cooperation across various sectors and geographies.
For more information, visit www.geff2017.com
ABOUT MIDDLE EAST GLOBAL ADVISORS
Connecting markets with intelligent insights & strategic execution since 1993
Middle East Global Advisors (MEGA) is the leading gateway connectivity and intelligence platform to Islamic finance opportunities in the rapidly developing economic region that stretches all the way from Morocco in the West to Indonesia in the East- The Middle East North Africa Southeast Asia (MENASEA) connection. For 24 years, our exclusive focus on achieving business results for the Islamic finance industry has enabled us to create significant value for the leading players in the Islamic banking, finance and investment markets.
Visit us at www.meglobaladvisors.com
ABOUT ISLAMIC FINANCE COUNCIL UK (UKIFC)
The Islamic Finance Council UK (UKIFC) is a specialist advisory and development body focused on promoting and enhancing the global Islamic and ethical finance industry. As a dynamic and forward-thinking not-for-profit the UKIFC Advisory Board brings together seasoned practitioners who are recognised leaders in the Islamic finance market. The UKIFC’s core service areas are: Ethical Finance, Advisory, Training and Awareness and Thought Leadership.
For more information, visit www.ukifc.com
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Aanchal Dhawan
Marketing Executive
Middle East Global Advisors
Tel: +971 4 441 4946
Email: aanchal@meglobaladvisors.com
© Press Release 2017