ProFinEthic Certification: The " ESG " Certification for Funds and Financial Industry Players

Asset management firms, private equity funds, business angel networks, crowdfunding platforms, and investment advisors: The ProFinEthic Certification evaluates the “ ESG ” approach of financial industry players and verifies that they invest in accordance with the ethical, social, and environmental values they promote. ESTRADS Certification awards each level based on verified evidence and following an on-site audit.

Companies must demonstrate their commitment to sustainability ESG.
And what about the fund that finances them?

A fund asks the companies in its portfolio for metrics, policies, and reports. Its own practices, however, are rarely audited by a third party. Yet those who entrust their money to it—the companies it finances and the general public—all ask the same question: Does this fund truly invest in accordance with the values it claims to uphold?

The ProFinEthic Certification addresses this issue. It evaluates the organization as a whole and compares what it says it does with what it actually does.

Policyholders who want to know where their money is going

Institutional investors, family offices, entrepreneurs, and retail investors: those who invest in a fund want to know how it selects its holdings and what it excludes. The certificate and the analysis report provide them with a third-party-verified answer, in addition to the prospectus and regulatory documents.

The general public is skeptical of green promises

Regulators have tightened the rules on funds that market themselves as sustainable. As of May 21, 2025, all funds whose names include an ESG or sustainability-related term must comply with ESMA’s guidelines, which the AMF has chosen to follow. The reform of the SRI label, which took effect in March 2024, introduced exclusions that did not previously exist. In this context, a financial institution that has its practices verified by an independent third party protects itself from suspicion of greenwashing.

Investments that also involve their funders

A company raising capital also chooses its investor. A company that has built its business model around “ ESG ” wants a shareholder who shares its values and won’t pressure it to abandon them. This certification becomes a selling point for a fund seeking access to the best investment opportunities.

Teams That Choose Their Employer

Young analysts and portfolio managers look for consistency between an asset management firm’s public statements and its actual practices before joining it. The certification also evaluates your social policies: recruitment, gender equality, compensation policies, training, and harassment prevention.

What Certification Adds to Fund Ratings

The SRI label and the Greenfin label are government-issued labels applied to a specific product—a particular fund at a given time. They verify the composition of a portfolio against a set of specifications. ProFinEthic certification focuses on the organization that manages these funds: its governance, its code of ethics, its investment policy, how it monitors its investments, its own working conditions, and its environmental impact.

The two approaches complement each other. An asset management firm with several SRI-certified funds can have all of its practices certified; a private equity fund or a crowdfunding platform—for which these certifications are not particularly well-suited—can find a certification process tailored to its needs.

A certification for all players in the financial sector

The ProFinEthic Certification is intended for entities that manage, advise on, or distribute savings and investment products. The questionnaire is tailored to their line of business, size, and legal status.

Management Companies and Investment Funds

Listed asset management, private equity, growth capital, venture capital, private debt: This certification evaluates your responsible investment policy, your exclusions, your pre-investment ESG analysis, your support for portfolio companies, and your transparency toward your investors. To assess the companies in your portfolio, ESTRADS Certification also offers an ESG rating based on evidence.

Business angel networks and investor clubs

A network that selects cases for its members puts its reputation on the line for each one. The certification process evaluates the network’s selection criteria, ethical guidelines, and measures to prevent conflicts of interest.

Crowdfunding Platforms

A platform connects thousands of investors with projects. It must be accountable for how it selects the projects it features and for the information it provides to investors. Certification provides an independent assessment of these practices.

Investment and Wealth Management Advisors

Your clients are increasingly asking you for investments that align with their values. The certification evaluates how you gather their preferences, the products you select, and your own practices, and provides you with a verified selling point.

Fintech and financial startups

A young financial technology company needs to win over its investors, banking partners, and the regulator. The startup questionnaire is tailored to its size and helps it establish a “ ESG ” approach from the very beginning.

Public Financial Institutions and Regional Funds

A regional fund, a public financial institution, or a local government investment fund is accountable to its governing bodies and to the public. Certification provides it with an independent assessment, using criteria tailored to a public organization.

What the ProFinEthic Certification Measures

More than 500 criteria, grouped into eight categories. The questionnaire varies depending on the profile: asset management firm, private equity fund, investor network, platform, advisor, startup, or public institution. Multiple managers can collaborate on the responses (executive management, investment management, compliance, legal, human resources, ESG).

Regulations and Ethics: Applicable Requirements, Anti-Corruption and Anti-Money Laundering Measures, and Prevention of Conflicts of Interest.
Governance: decision-making, investment committees, transparency regarding shareholders and beneficial owners, compensation policy.
Investment policy: disclosed investment principles and exclusions, ESG analysis prior to investment, and consistency between disclosed policies and the actual portfolio.
Monitoring of investments: support, shareholder engagement, tracked indicators, divestment in the event of noncompliance.
Transparency toward investors: providing information to subscribers, non-financial reporting, and handling complaints.
Employees: recruitment, equality, disability, training, harassment prevention.
Environment: the organization’s environmental footprint, energy, travel, and procurement.
Cybersecurity: protection of customer data and investments; system security.

Where do these criteria come from? From the documents listed on the page Our Certificationspage, including the SFDR and Taxonomy regulations, the CSRD Directive, and the duty of care, as well as finance-specific documents: ESMA guidelines on fund names, AMF doctrine, the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, and the SRI and Greenfin label standards. These standards are revised annually.

A sovereign and independent third party

A financial certification requires access to sensitive information: portfolio, investment pipeline, investors, and documents related to equity investments. ESTRADS Certification is 100% French-owned and is not subject to the Cloud Act: this data remains with a French provider. Details are available on the page Our Sovereignty.

As an independent, trusted third party, ESTRADS Certification is an organization that provides verification, ESG ratings, CSR certification, and sovereignty assessments. It has issued 650 certifications, none of which have been rejected by a client or contracting entity. It is certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 and holds the status of a mission-driven company. Any stakeholder can report a violation on the page Alert Us.

ESTRADS Certification already works with players in the financial sector. ACER Finance offers certification to companies in its portfolio, SouvTech Invest requires it from companies raising funds on its platform, and Défense Angels is one of its partners. These partnerships are featured on the Our Partnerspage.

Two features complement ProFinEthic:

the NSI certification, which measures an organization’s level of sovereignty using a score out of 100, is useful for funds that invest in strategic sectors;
ATLAS, which maps suppliers and subcontractors based on their certifications.

Letter of Recognition from the DGA

ESTRADS Certification received an official letter of recognition from the DGA highlighting the relevance of his work. As this excerpt states:

“The Defense Industry Directorate (DGA/DID) has taken note of the work conducted by ESTRADS Certification in the field of ethical, social, environmental, and sovereignty certification as applied to complex and sensitive industrial sectors, and more specifically to strategic sectors related to defense and security. This letter serves as explicit recognition of the value of the approach developed by ESTRADS Certification as an independent private initiative aimed at supporting industrial stakeholders in a proactive effort to advance and structure their practices.”

Let's talk about your certification

A quick conversation is all it takes to determine which questionnaire applies to you, what level to aim for, and what fee applies. The fee depends on your revenue, with special terms available for startups and members of partner organizations. A certified fund that has its investments certified may also be eligible for the referral program.