- Strategic partnership between leading providers in global benchmarks and ESG research and rating
- First products, ESG indexes based on the Russell US Indexes and Sustainalytics ESG Risk Ratings, to be introduced in early 2019
- FTSE Russell to complement its in-house sustainable investment capabilities by partnering with Sustainalytics to deliver greater choice for investors in integrating ESG into benchmarks and strategies
FTSE Russell, a leading global multi-asset index, data and analytics provider together with Sustainalytics, a global leader in ESG and corporate governance research, ratings and analysis, today announced a new strategic partnership to serve the rapidly growing demand for ESG integration into investment strategies. Through this partnership, FTSE Russell and Sustainalytics will work together to develop new FTSE Russell ESG indexes using the new Sustainalytics ESG Risk Ratings.
FTSE Russell will continue to invest and grow its in-house sustainable investment capabilities and supplement these through this new partnership with a fellow global leader in sustainable investment. Sustainalytics, which has worked with FTSE Russell for many years on custom indexes and successfully grown its capabilities and presence in the ESG market, is a natural choice as a partner. FTSE Russell believes providing new indexes driven by Sustainalytics data will provide the market with additional choice.
Initially, the two firms will develop a range of ESG indexes based on the Russell 1000, 2000 and 3000 indexes suitable as the basis for those implementing ESG considerations into their investment strategies. The teams are already working together to target the first product launch for the first half of 2019.
Mark Makepeace, CEO, FTSE Russell, said:
“This exciting new partnership deepens our relationship with Sustainalytics, a leading global provider of ESG research. This is an exciting development for our clients as it will provide new tools and benchmarks. FTSE Russell has been a leader in sustainable investment for nearly two decades and has been supporting the growing demand for ESG integration into passive strategies. The partnership with Sustainalytics enables us to provide a greater selection of options and choice to meet these ever growing client demands.”
Michael Jantzi, CEO, Sustainalytics, said:
“We are delighted to partner with FTSE Russell to combine our leading ESG Risk Ratings with FTSE Russell global indexes. The focus will initially be on the Russell US Indexes which has a leading position amongst institutional and retail investors and the partnership will provide valuable tools for ESG integration and product creation.”
FTSE Russell is responding to a growing trend among asset owners to integrate sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into their investment strategies and stewardship approach. Sustainable Investment benchmarks also support transparency and disclosure in the capital markets by providing a signal to companies regarding their performance on a range of sustainability and ESG issues.
