Petra Pflaum, Chief Investment Officer for Responsible Investments at DWS said: “Our new SDG rating system significantly enhances our ability to differentiate issuers of equities and bonds based on their contribution to making the world a better place.” The 17 United Nations SDGs set aspirations and targets for economic development, social inclusion and environmental sustainability and are applicable in the developed and developing world. DWS includes MSCI’s ESG Sustainable Impact Metrics data into its broad ESG dataset, the ESG.Engine. These measure the extent to which the products and services of specific companies support one or more of the SDGs both for listed equities and corporate bonds. Using this data, DWS seeks to identify those corporations, which – by their products and services – contribute to our world achieving the SDG agenda. DWS can therefore identify ESG leaders, not just by the positive contribution a corporation is making to the SDGs, but also whether individual corporations comply with broader ESG quality and norm tests. This is one of the key findings of a new research report by DWS on the SDGs. It analyzed a range of benchmark equity indices to assess the degree to which the respective investment universe made a meaningful contribution, defined as deriving at least some revenues from SDG related products. The result was that in all the indices under investigation less than half of the underlying companies make a positive SDG contribution.

Another investment approach to promote the SDG framework are sovereign bond funds that screen according to whether a country safeguards and enhances the political and civil rights of its citizens. For example, DWS’s ESG Engine ranks sovereigns incorporating, among other things, a country’s human rights record, prevalence of the death penalty, corruption, electoral democracies versus autocratic regimes, military spending and nuclear arms.

For further information please contact:

Nick Bone
Telefon: +44(20)754-72603
E-Mail: nick.bone@dws.com

DWS Group
DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA (DWS) is one of the world's leading asset managers with EUR700bn of assets under management (as of 31 Dec 2017). Building on more than 60 years of experience and a reputation for excellence in Germany and across Europe, DWS has come to be recognized by clients globally as a trusted source for integrated investment solutions, stability and innovation across a full spectrum of investment disciplines.

We offer individuals and institutions access to our strong investment capabilities across all major asset classes and solutions aligned to growth trends. Our diverse expertise in Active, Passive and Alternatives asset management – as well as our deep environmental, social and governance focus – complement each other when creating targeted solutions for our clients. Our expertise and on-the-ground-knowledge of our economists, research analysts and investment professionals are brought together in one consistent global CIO View, which guides our strategic investment approach.

DWS wants to innovate and shape the future of investing: with staff from 35 nationalities, speaking more than 75 languages rooted in 22 countries, we are local while being one global team.

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