CFA Sustainable Investing study plan

Draft a one-page client mandate summary that names ESG objectives, constraints, benchmark choice, and reporting cadence

Map every component of an investment policy statement to at least one ESG-specific disclosure a client would expect

Build a reporting dashboard outline listing five portfolio-level ESG metrics and the caveat attached to each (coverage, weighting, data lag)

Distinguish ESG investing from SRI, impact investing, and values-based screening by writing a one-sentence definition plus a counterexample for each

List three adoption drivers each for institutional, retail, and regulatory audiences and explain why they differ

Adjust a simple discounted cash flow model for a carbon-price scenario, tracing the effect through margins, terminal value, and the discount rate

Classify 15 ESG issues as material or immaterial for one chosen sector, justifying each with a channel to cash flow, risk, or cost of capital

Compare negative screening, best-in-class, thematic, and full integration on universe size, tracking-error intuition, and factor exposure

Construct a hypothetical 20-holding portfolio under two ESG constraints and identify which constraint binds first

Name three ESG data pitfalls (ratings divergence, look-ahead bias, coverage gaps) and state a mitigation for each

Summarize how ESG assets are measured and segmented across institutional, retail, and green-bond markets, flagging where double counting can occur

Score four fictional issuers on board independence, ownership structure, dual-class shares, and pay alignment, then rank them

Explain shareholder rights and takeover defenses and predict how each affects minority-holder value

Trace accounting red flags (aggressive revenue recognition, related-party deals, auditor turnover) to a governance-risk conclusion

Describe how ESG rating providers differ in scope, weighting, and methodology, and state the practical consequence for portfolio construction

Separate physical risk from transition risk, giving two examples of each with a transmission channel to an issuer's cash flows

Compute weighted average carbon intensity for a small hypothetical portfolio and interpret the metric's limitations

Map social factors (labor practices, supply-chain human rights, product safety, data privacy) to sector-specific materiality

Frame biodiversity, water, and waste dependencies as financial risks rather than ethical preferences

Explain how disclosure regimes, taxonomies, and carbon pricing shape the availability and comparability of environmental data

Outline a full stewardship program covering policy, prioritization, engagement method, escalation, and voting

Draft an engagement letter to a fictional issuer containing a specific ask, a success metric, and a 12-month timeline

Distinguish individual, collaborative, and thematic engagement and state when each is the right tool

Explain how proxy voting and shareholder proposals convert engagement dialogue into measurable outcomes

Rank five escalation tactics from least to most confrontational and predict the reputational cost of each

Complete a full-length timed mock on mandates/reporting and analysis/valuation, tagging every miss by root cause (knowledge, application, misreading)

Re-derive from memory the valuation adjustment chain for each item missed in the mock

Rewrite three missed mandate or reporting questions from scratch and answer them cold

Consolidate the formulas used in valuation adjustment and portfolio ESG metrics onto a single reference sheet

Design two portfolios under contrasting mandates (exclusion-based versus integration-based) and document the construction trade-offs

Quantify how a binding ESG constraint changes sector weights, concentration, and turnover in each design

Match stewardship and engagement evidence to the portfolio-construction decisions it would justify

Build a client-facing narrative that defends an ESG portfolio's active risk using engagement outcomes rather than screens

Cold-recall a 60-term glossary spanning all nine domains, marking any term recalled imprecisely

Revisit early-domain material (introduction to ESG, the ESG market) that has aged the longest since first pass

Sit a final full-length timed mock under exam conditions and compare the score to the week 6 baseline

Distill the top 15 recurring error patterns into a single pre-exam checklist