Solactive has acquired UK-based proxy voting and ESG data specialist Minerva Analytics to enhance its oversight of company engagement and sustainability research.
The index provider said the move will mean the combined firm’s more than 500 clients will now be able to access proxy voting and stewardship oversight as well as ESG indices, research and data.
Minerva has offered proxy voting services for more than 25 years, covering around 4000 companies across 30 markets.
Meanwhile, Solactive has focused on expanding its sustainable index range, ranking third globally in 2021 out of index providers used by ESG ETFs.
The two firms have collaborated on data since Solactive’s minority investment in Minerva in May 2019.
They will continue to operate independently following the acquisition.
Steffen Scheuble (pictured), CEO of Solactive, commented: “An explosion of interest in improving responsible investment practices over the last few years has been driven by both regulatory demands and increased client attention.
“In particular, clients are keen to diversify their sources of input and intelligence to improve outcomes. We believe this trend will only accelerate and we look forward to our continued close collaboration with Minerva as it cements its position as one of a handful of truly global and objective sustainable stewardship services and ESG research and data providers.”
The latest purchase comes little over a year after Solactive acquired Dutch real estate and infrastructure index provider Global Property Research (GSR) at the end of 2021.
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