Qontigo has become a member of Swiss Sustainable Finance (SSF), which works to foster financial practices that drive economic growth while benefitting society at large. Founded in 2014, the association now has over 160 members and network partners that include institutional investors, financial-services providers, universities and other organizations.
In recent years, Qontigo has increased its focus on sustainable investing and on expanding the offering of solutions that help a growing investor base incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into portfolio construction and analysis.
The promotion of sustainable development runs deep in Qontigo’s DNA, with its parent company, Deutsche Börse Group, and Qontigo’s constituent divisions of Axioma, DAX and STOXX having worked for years within initiatives that seek to construct safe and sound structures for the financial industry. Deutsche Börse Group puts ESG responsibility at the top of the agenda, and in 2018 initiated the Green and Sustainable Finance Cluster Germany, which aims to establish forward-looking and efficient financial markets.
“With rising perceptions of fiduciary duty and risk awareness around ESG issues, we can no longer conceive a financial marketplace that overlooks sustainability as a core goal,” said Rodolphe Bocquet, global head of sustainable investment at Qontigo. “Sustainability has been close to Qontigo’s principles since our origins more than 30 years ago. We are very pleased to join the SSF initiative and look forward to continuing actively supporting our broader industry’s work for a more sustainable financial system that better manages sustainability risk and serves the needs of society.”
Solutions that support ESG adoption
STOXX, Qontigo’s index arm, has facilitated ESG investing since 2011 with indices that meet a wide range of sustainable criteria, from climate to low carbon and ESG integration strategies. The pace of innovation will only gather pace this year: we are currently working on innovative offerings designed to strengthen the achievement of real-world outcomes in investments.
One of our biggest upcoming projects will see the adoption of ESG parameters across our Axioma analytics toolbox, to help users make well-informed responsible investment choices. This will be a timely and much expected incorporation as the move towards ESG integration in the asset-management industry gains further momentum.
Where finance meets sustainable development
Switzerland has a long-standing history in financial services as well as in promoting sustainable development. According to the SSF, the European country oversees 10% of global securitized assets, of which around CHF 390 billion (USD 438 billion) are managed along sustainability principles.1
The SSF’s work evolves around:
- Shaping and informing on best practice
- Sustainable finance information
- Facilitation of sustainable finance education
- Creating supportive frameworks and tools
- Sustainable investing in wealth and asset management
- Impact investing
- Financing the transition to a low-carbon economy
- Cooperating with members and other actors
- Sustainable cooperation with members and partners
- Political dialogue
- International representation and recognition
- Involvement of institutional asset owners
STOXX, Qontigo’s global index provider, is based in Zug, Switzerland. Learn more about the Qontigo Sustainable Investment Ecosystem here.
1 SSF, ‘Who We Are,’ as of Jan. 11, 2020.