Products June 23, 2011

MSCI Releases ESG Platform

MSCI has launched a new platform to provide asset managers with a suite of tools to better manage environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investments.
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The platform is twofold: it consists of the MSCI ESG Manager and MSCI ESG Impact Monitor. Together, they provide asset managers and owners with an integrated suite of tools to manage research, analysis and compliance tasks across the spectrum of ESG factors. The Impact monitor will allow investors to analyze a company’s significant social and environmental impacts and its ability to manage those impacts, including major ESG controversies and violations of global norms and conventions such as the UN Global Compact and ILO Core Conventions.  

Institutional investors can monitor new controversies and violations using the ESG Alert functionality of the platform. The Impact Monitor currently covers the MSCI World, and the release stated that it will expand to include all companies in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index in September 2011. Small-cap coverage will be added later.  

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The MSCI ESG Manager brings together the Impact Monitor with MSCI ESG’s business involvement screening research in one platform; ESG ratings will be added to the Manager later this year. The Manager platform provides a suite of functionalities to address the screening needs of global asset managers and owners. Institutional investors can create restricted lists, download research reports and data and receive email alerts on notable ESG research changes.  

“The launch of MSCI ESG Manager brings together our ESG research and analytics in one integrated platform,” said Remy Briand, Managing Director and Global Head of Index and ESG Research at MSCI, in the announcement. “Our aim is to set standards for the ESG market place by providing products and services to help clients integrate ESG factors into their investment processes, and the new MSCI ESG Manager provides an easy and convenient way to do this.” 

Data & Research June 23, 2011

PSCA Releases Non-Qualified Plan Survey

The Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA) and Boston Research Group have released findings from a survey of non-qualified plans.
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The survey found non-qualified plans continue to be more common among large companies; less than 10% of small companies (fewer than 500 employees) offer a non-qualified plan versus 70% of companies with 25,000 or more employees. On average, 8% of all employees are eligible to participate in their company’s non-qualified plan and nearly two-thirds of eligible employees participate.  

PSCA also found that the majority of plans are “account balance” plans similar to qualified defined contribution plans (83%), as opposed to “non-account balance” plans which are similar to a defined benefit plan. About 40% of plans match on employees’ contribution in account balance plans and 45% provide a non-matching employer contribution.   

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Only 28% of plan sponsors feel their plan has completed or met their overall objectives.   

The survey report can be purchased here.

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