Thomson Reuters Invests in Environmental, Social Responsibility and Governance Content Through the Acquisition of Asset4

Thomson Reuters today announced that it has acquired the business of ASSET4 AG, a Swiss-based, leading provider of Environmental, Social Responsibility and Governance (ESG) information and tools for professional investors and corporate executives. This deal represents a step forward in the integration of ESG data into mainstream financial analysis and underscores Thomson Reuters commitment to meet the evolving needs of the global financial community.

The global credit crisis, climate change, new regulation and other issues have highlighted the need for financial firms to assess the environmental, social responsibility, governance and reputational risks attached to the firms in which they invest. Through the acquisition of ASSET4’s leading ESG information and tools, Thomson Reuters clients worldwide will benefit from having direct access to this increasingly important information as part of their investment process.

Through the acquisition, Thomson Reuters will offer the most comprehensive database of objective, consistent and transparent ESG information along with a wide range of analysis tools enabling clients to integrate it into their everyday decision making. This information allows investors to engage companies, improve investment performance, reduce risk and lower research costs, while corporate executives can reduce risk, enhance corporate governance and increase accountability, transparency and trust.

“Thomson Reuters acquisition of ASSET4’s business is timely as our clients are looking for deeper insight into the combination of financial and extra-financial factors that drive the performance and risk of their investments”, said Abel Clark, global head of strategy and marketing, Investment and Advisory at Thomson Reuters. “The ESG content and tools will bring our clients increased transparency into areas of corporate performance that will grow in relevance as voluntary and mandatory ESG disclosure and performance standards become more prevalent.”

“Thomson Reuters is the natural choice to take the extra-financial information and tools that ASSET4 has built over the last five years to a truly global and mainstream client base,” said Peter Ohnemus, ASSET4 CEO and President. “Thomson Reuters clients will now have the information and tools to make this type of analysis a reality. Our existing clients, like Bank Sarasin, Storebrand and Société Générale, who have been thought leaders in responsible investing, will now be able to seamlessly integrate our ESG information into all aspects of their investment processes.”

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.