START is an ESG research system which blends third-party data sources with our in-house views, to provide a comprehensive analysis on companies regarding ESG risks and opportunities – analysis which constitutes a cornerstone of our Funds' investment process.
comparing what's comparable
When assessing a company’s ESG credentials, we start by comparing it against its peers to allow for a fairer and more accurate assessment.
Company stakeholders (employees, customers, suppliers, environment, community, board…) have differing significance depending on sector and geography. We call this their 'materiality', the impact of which is critical to a company's present and future value, depending on how it deals with them.
Once assembled by common ‘materiality', we segregate the companies by region and size,
to constitute our own ESG peer groups.
Collecting all that’s available
Large quantities of raw data are collected from specialised sources and automatically transferred into the system. Data include:
• external ESG ratings,
• company reported data (employee turnover, energy usage, gender equality, etc.),
• past and present controversies.
These data points enable the system to create an ESG performance-based profile for each company.
Sorting it all out
The system then ranks the companies within the ESG peer group, based on financially material ESG metrics – ESG metrics which can significantly impact companies' financial performance.
A score from A to E is automatically calculated for each E, S and G pillar to give us an overall company score.
This gives us a snapshot of how well the company is managing its stakeholders and if it has positive contribution to society and the planet through its revenues.
Auswertung der Daten
Das System stuft die Unternehmen innerhalb der ESG-Vergleichsgruppe auf Basis finanziell wesentlicher ESG-Daten (ESG-Daten, die die finanzielle Performance der Unternehmen erheblich beeinflussen können) ein.
Für die Bereiche Umwelt (E), Soziales (S) und Governance (G) wird jeweils automatisch eine Bewertung von A bis E ermittelt. Hieraus ergibt sich die Gesamtbewertung der Unternehmen.
Dadurch erhalten wir einen Überblick darüber, wie das Unternehmen mit seinen Stakeholdern umgeht
und ob es einen positiven Beitrag für die Gesellschaft und die Umwelt leistet.
At this stage, the system has created the strongest possible starting point for the rest of the analysis.
WHY GO FURTHER?
Some information is not quantifiable, some data require interpretation, some statistics are backward looking; an additional input is needed: the human factor!
Putting the data into perspective
Our analysts have in-depth knowledge of companies and industries gained through years of experience, hours of research and daily engagements with management.
This allows for unique insights, which they incorporate in the system through:
• A rating – they can override the systematically generated score
• A written comment – details of their analysis and any information they think is relevant
• An outlook on the company’s ESG trajectory – is it making efforts?
