Career conversations: Creating an impact with a career in ESG Investing

Back in my university days, I was a volunteer for one of the NGOs in Hong Kong. I wanted to bring some tangible impact to the environment in Hong Kong. So that's why I chose my first job to be a sustainability consultant, advising companies on waste management, carbon emissions. But then the ESG and the sustainability field has evolved a lot over the years. There is a strong demand on professionals that are required to do ESG or sustainability analysis.

After my first job as a consultant, I joined an asset manager to be their first ESG analyst in Asia. After that, I got an incredible opportunity here in my current company. Hi, my name is Tim Chan. I am the Head of Sustainability Research, APAC (ex Japan) at Morgan Stanley.

 I graduated with a degree in life science. As you can imagine, when I was in the life science field, my expertise was to study living organisms. But then in the financial industry it's about the market dynamics. So I think the transition has been quite significant for me.  

I realized I didn't have a very structured knowledge about finance and investment industry. And then when I tried to enhance my understanding in the industry, I looked for different certification and programs, and I found CFA (Program) is a really comprehensive one.

So it covers areas including ethics, portfolio management to equities, fixed income, and others. So it allows new joiners or beginners like me to understand the industry in a comprehensive way.

Because I am in the ESG field as well, CFA® (Program) has a really strong focus on ethics. That really stands out to me because many of the investors that focus on ESG and sustainability also focus a lot on the ethics and integrity of investment professionals.

I think that part really helped me when I engage with my clients or investors. Many markets are still trying to or starting their journey on ESG, so that's where I feel I am making the most impact because I got the chance to engage and talk to these investors.