Acquisition Will Help Meet Growing Demand of Investment Management Community for ESG Data and Insights
ROCKVILLE, MD (January 5, 2017) – Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”), the leading provider of end-to-end corporate governance and responsible investment solutions to the global financial community, today announced the acquisition of IW Financial, a U.S.-based firm offering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research, consulting, and portfolio management solutions.
Established in 2001 and headquartered in Portland, Maine, IW Financial’s suite of offerings help asset management firms and other institutional clients identify risks, enhance productivity, and increase revenues by adding value to the money management process while strengthening client relationships. IW Financial’s solutions are based on patented technology that allows users to comparatively rate companies based on user-defined criteria. Institutions can incorporate ESG factors into their investment platforms, products, and portfolios and can quickly identify the investments that best meet ESG guidelines and client expectations.
“This acquisition will help us continue to meet the growing demands of the investment community to further integrate ESG data and insights into ISS’ industry leading corporate governance offerings,” said ISS’ Chief Operating Officer, Stephen Harvey. “We are committed to helping investment professionals across the globe leverage timely and relevant extra-financial insights to aid in investment decision-making through our growing suite of services.”
IW Financial screens, methodologies, and other solutions will be integrated into ISS-Ethix, the ESG arm of Institutional Shareholder Services, which provides global investors with deep expertise in environmental and social research and analysis to deliver a fully integrated, turnkey solution for responsible investing. IW Financial CEO Sam Pierce will continue with the combined group and will lead development of an environmental and social ratings methodology, slated for release later this year as part of the ISS QualityScore screening and scoring solution.
“We are very pleased to join the ISS family and I look forward to working with Steve and entire team to develop and deliver industry leading ESG products and services,” said Pierce. “We look forward to integrating our teams, products, and services to provide clients a truly end-to-end solution that is global in scope.”
