Overview
Sustainable Investments Are More Than a Trend
The goal of SIX is to establish solid, sustainable and independent benchmarks for the Swiss bond and equity markets. Economic performance and prosperity should not come at the expense of future generations. However, there are no generally valid guidelines for what is meant by a sustainable company. In practice, therefore, sustainable investments are defined differently. Nevertheless, there are generally recognized sustainability criteria. The three letters “ESG” represent these criteria. They stand for “environment, social and governance.” These criteria are used to assess whether and how companies take into account ecological and social aspects as well as a sustainable type of corporate management.
In developing the indices, SIX has drawn on data from the independent Swiss sustainability rating agency Inrate. The ESG Impact Rating developed by Inrate measures the positive and negative impacts of companies on the environment and society.
How You Will Benefit
Strong Partner
SIX uses the rating expertise of Inrate for the ESG index methodology.
Efficient Instrument
The ESG indices are an efficient tool for rapid assessment for the Swiss capital market.
Independent and Transparent
The indices of SIX are rule-based and calculated independently. SIX thus ensures transparency and independence.
High Level of Trust
Thanks to the strong index brands of SIX, the ESG indices enjoy a high level of market acceptance.
UNGC Compliance
Index components are (amongst other factors) selected based on a United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) assessment.
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Index Methodology
The components of an index are selected from its respective universe. The same selection steps are applied to both stock and bond indices. The SBI acts as the universe for the bond indices and the SPI for the stock indices.
The following factors are taken in to account for the selection of the corresponding ESG index:
- Rating: The ESG impact rating ranges in twelve levels from D– to A+.
- Critical sectors: Inrate collects sales figures for a large number of critical sectors.
- United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) assessment by Inrate.
- Findings of the Swiss Association for Responsible Investments (SVVK) are incorporated by SIX.
To be selected for the index, the companies must have an ESG Impact Rating of at least C+ and are subject to revenue limits in the following sectors: adult entertainment, alcohol, armaments, gambling, genetic engineering, nuclear energy, coal, oil sands and tobacco. In addition, index candidates need to fulfill the UNGC assessment and must not be on the exclusion list of the SVVK.
The Need for Sustainable Investments Is Increasing
Access to Swiss Indices
Swiss Indices from SIX are often used as underlyings for index-based products and as benchmarks for portfolio management.
Both require a subscription.
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The issuance of passive products based on the Swiss Indices is covered by a product license. This license is typically associated with the following:
- Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
- Index funds, mandates, passive portfolios
- Structured products
- Futures, options, and swaps
A detailed overview of current index-based products is available here.
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Do you want to include Swiss indices in your investment strategy? Learn more about index data licensing from SIX.
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