SAN FRANCISCO; AMSTERDAM (February 23, 2017) – Glass Lewis, the leading independent provider of global governance and engagement support services, today announced that ratings, data and analysis from partner Sustainalytics have been integrated into its Proxy Paper research service and Viewpoint vote management application.
Glass Lewis Proxy Papers now include an enhanced ESG Profile featuring ratings and data from Sustainalytics, a global leader in sustainability research and analysis for investors and financial institutions around the world. The new profiles provide graphical snapshots of the subject company’s ESG performance relative to industry peers, in addition to analyst commentary and a synopsis of noteworthy controversies and product involvement.
“The aim of Proxy Paper is to support our clients with trustworthy data and independent insights so they may better understand the companies they are analyzing,” said Glass Lewis CEO Katherine Rabin. “Whether used for scrutinizing ESG practices in preparation for voting a proxy or preparing for an engagement, the content from Sustainalytics offers an efficient mechanism to alert investors to key issues that may warrant further exploration.”
Furthermore, key Sustainalytics ratings are now integrated into Viewpoint and available as options to tailor clients’ custom proxy voting policies. Viewpoint clients can incorporate more nuanced proxy voting and referral-item triggers around ESG performance, even when there are no shareholder proposals on the ballot to address specific areas of interest.
“We understand the importance investors place on their stewardship responsibilities and see environmental and social considerations playing an increasingly important role across the investment spectrum,” said Michael Jantzi, CEO of Sustainalytics. “In this regard, our partnership with Glass Lewis holds the promise to deliver unique benefits to clients, and we are excited to launch this next phase of our collaboration.”
About Glass Lewis
Glass Lewis is the leading independent provider of global governance services, helping institutional investors understand and connect with the companies they invest in. We are a trusted ally of more than 1,200 investors globally who use our high-quality, unbiased Proxy Paper research, industry-leading Viewpoint proxy vote management solution, and innovative Meetyl direct-engagement platform to help drive value across all their governance activities. Glass Lewis empowers institutional investors that collectively manage more than $25 trillion to make sound voting decisions at more than 20,000 meetings a year in 100 countries by uncovering and assessing governance, business, legal, political and accounting risks. Founded in 2003, Glass Lewis has more than 360 employees worldwide across offices from headquarters in San Francisco to New York, Washington D.C., Sydney, Australia, Limerick, Ireland, and Karlsruhe, Germany. More information available at www.glasslewis.com.
About Sustainalytics
Sustainalytics is an independent ESG and corporate governance research, ratings and analysis firm supporting investors around the world with the development and implementation of responsible investment strategies. With 14 offices globally, Sustainalytics partners with institutional investors who integrate environmental, social and governance information and assessments into their investment processes. Today, the firm has more than 250 staff members, including 170 analysts with varied multidisciplinary expertise of more than 40 sectors. Through the IRRI survey, investors selected Sustainalytics as the best independent responsible investment research firm for three consecutive years, 2012 through 2014 and in 2015 and 2016, Sustainalytics was named among the top three firms for both ESG and Corporate Governance research. For more information, visit www.sustainalytics.com.