Why should you study a socially responsible MSc in Finance?

Sponsored by emlyon Business School

Finance has a significant influence on the allocation of resources and capital flow within our economy. By integrating environmental and social considerations into financial decision-making, we can mitigate the negative impact of industries on society and the planet.

TopUniversities.com spoke to France Bachelot, programme co-director for the MSc in Finance at emlyon Business School, where environmental and social governance (ESG) matters are embedded across the school.

Bachelot said: “Environmental and social governance are hugely important to emlyon Business School. They are core to the school’s values and as such, feature across our programmes. For the MSc in Finance, we were among the first schools to embed ESG thinking across almost every module of the programme.”

Learn to invest in a sustainable and just world

The 18-month responsible MSc in Finance aims to create executives who can face today’s corporate and market challenges by providing the fundamental knowledge and skills required for the competitive world of finance and a global perspective of how finance plays a role in creating a sustainable and just world. 

“We want to create more sustainable finance and responsible executives doing finance. If we want to invest, we must invest responsibly both for society and the planet. Wherever our students go with their finance careers, they need to be able to think about the impact their decisions will have on the world,” said Bachelot. 

While some schools have chosen to create an entire programme focused on sustainable finance, leaders at emlyon feel that it’s part of everything we deal with in life and so must be embedded in the curriculum in the same way.

“That’s why we decided not to add another a programme dedicated to social and sustainable finance for people specifically interested in that”, Bachelot added, “we want each topic and function within finance to be socially responsible and environmentally friendly – and for all our students to take that thinking forward into the industry.    

“Of course, when they study mathematics they do maths, but once they’ve gained the relevant skills, they’ll use maths within economics and macroeconomics, where we do talk about ESG matters.”

Access environmental and socially responsible finance professionals

One of the standout features of the emlyon MSc in Finance is the connection to over 1600 businesses around the world. For students, this means guest talks from industry professionals, working on live projects for banks and investors, and attending sustainable finance conferences. 

“Many of our professors come from industry, bringing their experiences to the classroom. Those professionals provide the skills and knowledge that students then apply in the second part of the programme through a six-month internship,” said Bachelot.

“Students also learn from industry experts through various conferences. This year, we held a conference with HSBC Asia’s vice president for asset management, who spoke about sustainability in asset management in very practical terms and gave advice on creating a model for calculating the environmental and social impact of the company’s investment decisions. 

“Students learned how HSBC deals with environmental issues and were given concrete key performance indicators (KPIs) to understand success.” 

The aim of learning from such a vast selection of finance professionals is to prepare students for a varied career. Bachelot said: “Our vision is that they won’t do the same job over the next 45 years, so we prepare students with the technical skills for their first four to five years in the industry, then we prepare them to acquire new skills across their careers.

“In less than five years, skills will change, new jobs will be available in new functions. They must be ready to adapt to different environments, functions and to evolve their skills for the future.”

Gain a global perspective to finance and investing 

Why is it important for the finance industry to make more sustainable and socially-just decisions and investments? 

Bachelot said: “The banks and the finance industry have the cash. We need that cash to make future thinking investments. We need to invest in research in new ways of producing, consuming, travelling. It’s about bringing innovative thinking to the industry.

“Finance has a great role to play because the industry raises funds and manages funds in order to invest in innovation. Financial experts have the power to invest in the right projects to invest in good, responsible projects that positively impact people and planet.”

According to Bachelot, the younger generation have the open-mindedness and creativity to bring innovation to the industry and in some ways educate the older generation to run the markets differently to what has been done so far. 

“We want our students to be prepared to develop that innovation and entrepreneurship so they can shape the finance industry moving forward,” she said.

A global perspective is key to that innovation, says Bachelot. “In order to be innovative and to think about the impact of investments in a complex world with many different points of view, we have to gain different points of view.

“How do we do that? We recruit students from over 30 countries, and we mix everybody so students are always learning from other points of view. We also have 20 top-tier academic professors and 90 professional lecturers from France and beyond, to ensure students have a diverse learning environment.”

What to consider when choosing a socially responsible MSc in Finance

As well as looking at specific programmes for sustainable or ESG finance, consider the MSc in Finance programmes that embed ESG issues across the curriculum and hold sustainable and social responsibility as a core value throughout the business school.

Bachelot said: “Finding the right programme is about understanding your objectives and what you’re willing to do to acquire the career you want. If the school can support you to fulfil those objectives with the right knowledge, skills, practise and expertise, then you’re on the right path.

“It’s a competitive world in finance and we can see how motivated students are to succeed when they apply to us. We can see what they’re ready to do for their future.”

Bachelot added: “Look at the technical skills you’ll learn, but also the soft skills you’ll be supported with. Look at the time in practise you’ll be given including group work, real world projects and international challenges.

“Find out what the diversity is like, not only in terms of cultural diversity but in professional background too. We welcome people from a variety of backgrounds including engineering, law and management. We want our students to learn from each other too.” 

“If you are eager to have an impact on the future of financing economic technological and social progress and if you want to be part of teams motivated by excellence and challenge, join the MSc in finance at emlyon Business School.”