ISS STOXX’s benchmark and custom index solutions unit STOXX announced today an agreement to acquire sustainability-focused index and data provider ECPI from investment management solutions company Confluence.
Founded in 1997, Milan-based ECPI provides sustainability indices, data, and analytics to the institutional investor community, assisting asset owners and asset managers in developing sustainable investment solutions ranging from investable indices to sustainability portfolio screening. The company offers more than 60 indices, ranging from global benchmark to thematic, strategy, and hedged indices, including equity and fixed income sustainability indices used by institutional investors for index-based investment products, risk and return analysis, compliance with sustainability mandates, and to define an investment universe.
Following the completion of the acquisition, STOXX will become the benchmark administrator for the full portfolio of ECPI Indices.
According to Axel Lomholt, Head of Index at ISS STOXX, the acquisition forms part of STOXX’s “continued commitment to delivering industry leading and differentiated sustainability index offerings to augment and strengthen our clients’ investment processes.”
Lomholt added:
“As a global top 10 index provider, we’re pleased to be able to bring to a wider audience ECPI’s varied sustainability indices and broader offerings.”
In addition to its index offerings, ECPI also maintains one of the world’s largest corporate sustainability databases, with research covering more than 6,800 issuers utilizing a proprietary research model focuses primarily on performance factors that determine issuers’ sustainability and intangible market value.
Lorenzo Pelizzola, VP, ECPI Index and ESG Research, said:
“Product innovation and the ability to respond rapidly to client needs with tailor made solutions are at the heart of ECPI’s success and qualities we will significantly build on as part of ISS STOXX. The ECPI team is pleased to be a part of ISS STOXX, in furtherance of our shared objective of providing institutional investors with world-class and cutting-edge sustainability indices, ratings, data, and related offerings.”
