economie Announces UK’s First online SRI Course and Exam

London, 1st June 2006, – economie, the international organisation dedicated to the education, promotion and development of socially responsible investment (SRI) worldwide, today announced the availability of the UK’s first SRI on line examination course. A new international financial standard is expected to be released in September for the competencies of a personal financial planner (ISO 22222). The draft standard requires a financial planner to request additional appropriate data that should include attitude to social, ethical, environmental and religious considerations.

economie believes that any financial adviser wanting to be assessed against the standard will need to demonstrate a knowledge of SRI and the ability to put it into practice. The economie online course will be ideally suited to do just that. This is a significant development particularly as Socially Responsible Investment is one of the fastest growth sectors in European Financial Services and yet so few financial advisers even know what values based investment is all about.

The course and kitemark exam is designed specifically to give students a comprehensive understanding of SRI and how it relates to the practice of financial planning.

The economie kitemark SRI exam is available to FAs now and will be officially launched at economie’s flagship event, eco6, in Zurich 9th-10th October 2006. The economie kitemark is open to all FAs, regardless of their experience in SRI.

“For many years, until pressure from the public forced a change in thinking, the financial sector refused to take ethical investment seriously, and for this reason has until recently been largely overlooked by official financial adviser exams, both basic and advanced,” said Brian Harrison Spence, Founder, economie. “The kitemark is an excellent way for FAs to demonstrate and document their SRI skills, competency and knowledge. The kitemark also provides FAs who have no knowledge in SRI with the opportunity to learn about this fascinating field and gain specialist skills in order to further their careers.”

economie created the kitemark in order to increase levels of ethical expertise in the financial services industry and boost consumer confidence in the proficiency of advisers professing skills in this sector. Students work with online support from economie via individual tutorials and there are pre-examination seminars for students who need face-to-face communication. The economie kitemark is moderated by Bournemouth University.

The examinations have been designed to reflect the diverse cultural elements present in British society. Dr Humayon Dar Managing Director of The Dar al Istithmar Institute, a London based subsidiary of Deutsche Bank commented:

“The future of worldwide financial institutions lies in value based investment. I welcome the introduction of the economie examinations, which will give to people of all race and creed the opportunity to be advised by qualified individuals who can match their investments with their own personal value system.”

Upon completion of the economie examination programme students should be able to:

The economie kitemark exam is made up of two modules: the Foundation SRI module, with two papers; and an Intermediate SRI module, with one paper. The SRI Foundation module is also available for Tied/Multi-Tied Advisers. More information on the exam can be found at [1] exam.economie.co.uk

About economie

Founded in 2005, economie is an international organisation devoted to creating international awareness and establishing social responsible investment and corporate social responsibility as the norm. Headquartered in London, economie is made up of international partners from 20 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, South Africa, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK and USA.

At the heart of the organisation’s ethos is the belief that much more can be achieved by working together than by standing apart. For more information, please visit [2] www.economie.co.uk.

On th and 10th October 2006, economie will be hosting its flagship event, eco6. eco6 seeks to bring together the world’s leading SRI and CSR experts. The conference offers delegates the opportunity to meet, learn from and be inspired by passionate, creative individuals from all corners of the SRI and CSR community. For further information about eco6, please visit [3] www.eco6.co.uk