The Responsible Finance Institute (RFI) Foundation was founded with a vision to integrate principles and solutions of the socially responsible banking, insurance and investment (‘responsible finance’) sectors, including the ethical and socially responsible principles of Islamic finance, into the global economic system to support equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic development.
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To that end, the Foundation partners with like-minded entities globally to enhance awareness of responsible finance, produce research that enhances understanding of responsible finance practices globally and build the soft infrastructure to support responsible finance and investment activities.
Incorporation
Registered as a non-profit organization in the United Kingdom in 2015, the RFI Foundation is focused on promoting greater awareness of the responsible finance industry. The organisation has a two-tier governance structure where the Council of Advisors serves as an advisory body on the strategic direction of the RFI Foundation and the Board of Trustees is the governing body overseeing operational affairs. The Board of Trustees and Council of Advisors held their inaugural meeting on August 31, 2015 in Edinburgh, UK. Blake Goud has served as CEO since September 2015.
Mission and Activities
As the RFI Foundation defines the term, responsible finance includes sustainable, responsible and impact (SRI) investing (traditional responsible finance) and Islamic finance. In addition to the area of responsible investment, responsible finance covers banking and insurance. The mission of the RFI Foundation is to produce research and raise awareness of responsible finance to highlight shared principles with a neutral, nonpartisan and universal approach.
In 2015, the RFI Foundation released its first research study which examined the areas of similarities in the approach of and principles shares between Islamic finance and traditional responsible finance. The research, co-authored with Thomson Reuters, and titled "The Emerging Convergence of SRI, ESG and Islamic Finance" included an estimate of the total assets which would likely be managed in a Shariah compliant manner that also integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors which could add $37.1 billion to the $69.0 billion in Islamic funds projected in 2019. The report further estimates that total latent demand (inclusive of the fund assets under management and unmet demand) for Shariah compliant funds inclusive of the responsible investment funds that adopt Shariah compliant methodologies will reach $350.2 billion in 2019.
In 2016, the RFI Foundation organized the Responsible Finance Summit, hosted by Bank Negara Malaysia and co-organized by Middle East Global Advisors. In opening the Summit, Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz highlighted the post-financial crisis shift that has made responsible finance a more significant part of the global financial system when she noted that:
"There is thus a compelling need for finance to have a greater role in shaping responsible behavior that underpins a stable and well-functioning economy, and advances the goals of a progressive society and sustainable environment. [The] underlying objective of responsible finance [is] to recognise and appreciate that responsible finance delivers value by focusing on its ultimate outcomes, rather than its immediate returns".,
Mr. Georg Kell, the Founder & former Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, added during his keynote address that growing recognition by business (including finance) of the importance of sustainability makes the "competitive struggle increasingly defined by being socially responsible [making it] a race to the top not a race to the bottom." HRH Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II, Emir of Kano, also called on the participants in the Responsible Finance Summit to look beyond the boundaries of finance because "[it] does not exist in a vacuum and you can’t have responsible finance in an irresponsible economic and political environment".
During the Responsible Finance Summit, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) signed a partnership agreement to "cooperate in offering sustainable Islamic investment vehicles". Bank Negara Malaysia also announced on the sidelines of the Summit an "Emas" designation for three Sukuk totaling US$820 million.
The strategic objectives guiding the future activities of the RFI Foundation are:
Council of Advisors
The advisory board of the RFI Foundation provides the strategic direction for the RFI Foundation and is made up of the following individuals serving in a personal capacity:
Board of Trustees
The governing body of the RFI Foundation is the Board of Trustees includes the following individuals serving in a personal capacity: