New Corporate Governance Assessment Tool

September 21, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Asset managers have a new tool to quickly evaluate corporate governance practices as part of the investment decision making and proxy voting process, thanks to a new Governance Workstation added to IW Financial's (IWF's) Workstation platform.

An IWF news release said that the Governance Workstation (launched by IWF and The Corporate Library) incorporates more than 50 data points across nine categories including board independence, CEO compensation, auditing practices, and shareholder rights.   It has the ability to generate comparative ratings based on user or client-defined criteria or a pre-defined standard.

“Corporate governance can have a direct impact on the performance of a corporation and on the return to shareholders, a reality that is increasingly being recognized by asset managers and their clients.   As a result, governance ratings are viewed as an important metric to be taken into account in the stock selection and portfolio construction,” said Karen Lowell, CEO of The Corporate Library, in the news release.

The IWF Workstation platform already allows asset managers to quickly identify investment opportunities that match client concerns. The Governance Workstation adds to these capabilities.   According to the news release, it supports research analysts in the diligence process and asset managers in addressing client concerns over specific governance practices.

Choosing investments based on corporate policies and practices is one form of socially responsible investing (See  Examining the Meaning of Socially Responsible Investing ).

IW Financial provides technology solutions enabling financial professionals to manage risk and differentiate their services.   Its Web site is  www.iwfinancial.com .

The Corporate Library is a research firm in the field of corporate governance and executive and director compensation.   They are the creator of the Board Analyst family of corporate intelligence products.   More about that can be found at  www.boardanalyst.com .

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