Sustainable Investments: New opportunities on the Swiss stock exchange
The stock exchange operator SIX has introduced new ESG indices in the Swiss market for shares and bonds. These cover the sustainability criteria environment, social/society and governance.
There has been a marked increase in demand for sustainable investments that take into account ESG criteria (ESG stands for Environment, Social and Governance). ESG criteria provide information on how companies take into account environmental and social aspects, as well as a sustainable approach to corporate governance. In developing the indices, SIX draws on data from the independent Swiss sustainability rating agency Inrate, among others, the company writes. The ESG Impact Rating developed by Inrate measures the positive and negative impact of companies on the environment and society.
New two indices for shares
Based on the Swiss Performance Index (SPI), SIX now offers two SPI ESG indices for equities. For bonds, the 20 new SBI ESG indices are available, which are formed on the basis of the Swiss Bond Index (SBI), according to the statement. To be covered in the indexes, a company must have an ESG impact rating of at least C+ and generate no more than 5% of its revenue in a critical sector. According to the index rules, these critical sectors are: adult entertainment, alcohol, armaments, gambling, genetic engineering, nuclear energy, coal, oil sands and tobacco. In addition, an index candidate must not be on the exclusion list of the Swiss Association for Responsible Investment be
Marion Leslie, Head Financial Information and SIX Group Executive Board member, emphasizes: "For the first time, SIX is introducing ESG indices with broad coverage of Swiss equities and bonds. In doing so, we are creating new opportunities for investors to align their investments with sustainable aspects. This is in line with our strategy to consistently develop our data offering to provide solutions for future market needs."
Christoph Müller, CEO Inrate, comments: "Investors integrate ESG into their investments in order to incorporate fundamental concerns and values of society and to expand the data basis for investment decisions. This requires a high degree of comparability, systematicity and, if possible, quantification. Inrate aims to be the leader in this."
Further information on the new ESG indices from SIX, including methodology, rules and composition, is available at www.six-group.com/esg-indices available.
