BST Awards 2022: Best ESG data provider to the buy side—FactSet

Overview

Investors are seeking reliable, high-quality data that goes beyond company disclosures to capture corporate impact. FactSet provides a holistic picture of the ESG landscape with metrics, scores, ratings, news and sentiment from FactSet Truvalue and a variety of third-party providers such as Sustainalytics, MSCI, ISS ESG, and Alexandria.

What problem does it address?

FactSet Truvalue applies AI to uncover timely, objective ESG data that identifies both risks and opportunities at the speed of current events. The firm’s connected data, workflow solutions and delivery options allow users to accelerate their ESG journey and drive capital toward a sustainable future.

Secret sauce

Unlike traditional ESG datasets that focus on annual ratings and corporate disclosures, FactSet constantly monitors ESG behavior, enabling its clients to incorporate material and market-moving information into their investment processes. The firm leverages AI to sift through millions of data points, uncovering ESG intelligence in unstructured data from more than 100,000 sources.

Recent milestones

• Expanded relationships with over 40 third-party ESG data providers.
• Launched the Principal Adverse Impact dataset with entity- and product-level specifications for complying with the developing EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).
• Announced a joint offering with Ping An Insurance for investors considering ESG metrics specific to China-based companies.

Future objectives 

• FactSet has committed to a near-term, company-wide emission reduction target in line with the Science Based Targets initiative.
• Expanding the collection of ESG metrics for private companies.
• Further investment in cloud computing, data lakes, APIs, and expansion of FactSet’s content collection to support clients’ evolving strategies.

Why they won 

FactSet continues accumulating ESG-focused category wins in these and other WatersTechnology awards, thanks to its Truvalue offering. It might not be the largest data producer and collator in the industry, but it punches way above its weight when it comes to ESG data, especially when dealing with the well-documented challenges around greenwashing and corporate self-reporting, which increases opaqueness and obfuscation for investors seeking transparency.