Products February 19, 2009

RiskMetrics Expands ESG Presence with Acquisition of Innovest

February 19, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - RiskMetrics Group, Inc., a provider of risk and corporate governance services to participants in the global financial markets, has announced it has agreed to acquire Innovest Strategic Value Advisors.
Reported by

Established in 1995 with the mission of integrating sustainability and finance by identifying non-traditional sources of risk potential for investors, New York-based Innovest specializes in analyzing companies’ performance on environmental, social, and strategic governance issues. “The acquisition of Innovest and its team of experts led by co-founders Dr. Matthew Kiernan and Hewson Baltzell, enlarges RiskMetrics footprint in the environmental, social & governance research space at a time when the financial community’s interests in sustainability are growing,” the announcement said.

RiskMetrics currently provides ESG research, data feeds and portfolio screening tools to more than 350 global institutions that have a need to comply with clients’ investment mandates. According to the announcement, with the acquisition of Innovest, clients will have access to an ESG analyst team of more than 50 research professionals and an integrated environmental, social & governance suite of research and compliance-focused services.

The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close March 2, 2009.

More information is at www.riskmetrics.com .

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