S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI), one of the world’s largest providers of financial market indices, and RobecoSAM, the investment specialist focused exclusively on Sustainability Investing, today announced the launch of the S&P ESG Index Series, which is designed to measure the performance of companies in its respective underlying index with a weighting scheme based on an ESG Factor Score, derived from RobecoSAM’s annual Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). It is the first index family to treat ESG as a standalone performance factor, using the RobecoSAM Smart ESG methodology, and the first global ESG index family that serves the growing market of smart beta indices.
The S&P ESG Index series is based on S&P DJI’s regional indices. The series consists of theS&P Global 1200 ESG, S&P 500® ESG, S&P Europe 350 ESG and S&P/TOPIX 150 ESG.
The constituents’ sustainability profiles are evaluated using RobecoSAM’s groundbreaking Smart ESG methodology, an advanced scoring system that focuses on financial materiality by pinpointing ESG indicators that are considered the most financially relevant for different industries. The methodology eliminates known biases such as market cap and industry, and avoids undesired factor exposures in the scores.
Alka Banerjee, Managing Director, Head of Product Management, S&P Dow Jones Indices:”Sustainability issues can be sources of substantial risks but equally, substantial opportunities. We are proud to combine our experience and extensive know-how in developing smart beta indices with RobecoSAM’s world-class ESG credentials to create the S&P ESG Index Series, a unique offering for investors who want to use ESG as a smart beta factor.”
Guido Giese, PhD, Head of Indices, RobecoSAM: “Now, ESG integration is accessible to each and every investor. Our new S&P ESG index family makes it easy for investors to track the performance of companies that have sustainable long-term operations without changing their standard benchmark. RobecoSAM’s Smart ESG approach represents the latest step in sustainability investing moving to the mainstream. We are pleased to partner with the leading index provider, S&P Dow Jones Indices, to bring this unique proposition to the market.”
For additional information on the S&P ESG Index family, please visit:
http://www.spindices.com/index-family/sustainability/esg
Want to learn more about RobecoSAM’s groundbreaking Smart ESG methodology? Then visit:
http://www.robecosam.com/en/sustainability-insights/focus-themes/smart-esg/index.jsp
