Northern Trust launches ESG digitized data aggregation tool powered by Equity Data Science

Northern Trust has launched an ESG workflow solution developed in collaboration with Equity Data Science, Inc. that allows investors to more quickly access and share ESG information.

The ESG digitized data aggregation tool allows investment teams to analyze and measure decision-making across the investment lifecycle and quickly share and evaluate information as it becomes available.

The ESG workflow solution’s specific features include:

· Automated capture of ESG data from market and specialist vendors, including unstructured data sets that identify potential ESG issues.

· Seamless integration of vended data elements (e.g., notes, commentary) within the system for access to all ESG-related data in a single view.

· Workflow tools that digitize analysts’ processes around gathering, reviewing, and annotating ESG scoring and events, as well as decision points throughout the investment process.

· Analytics and dashboards that allow analysts and portfolio managers to interrogate, visualize, compare, and decompose ESG scores from major vendors for deeper insights into each company’s true ESG profile.

Modernize and integrate ESG data across the entire investment lifecycle

Greg McCall, President of Equity Data Science, said: “The ESG workflow solution helps clients tackle several issues brought on by the complexities of ESG data without altering their processes. This allows investment teams to modernize and integrate their ESG data across the entire investment lifecycle, empowering them to further harness their ESG data.”

Paul Fahey, Head of Investment Data Science at Northern Trust, said: “We know that implementing ESG is a top concern for our clients, so EDS and Northern Trust have come together to launch our new ESG workflow solution to provide our clients with a single source for their data. This enables more efficiency and transparency for investment teams and helps clients streamline their data and reporting processes.”

Investment manager Sanders Capital is one of the first Northern Trust clients to deploy the ESG digitized data aggregation tool. “Northern Trust and EDS brought real insight into how digitization could drive value. Together, we transformed one of our most cumbersome functions into a best practice model for our broader investment process”, said a spokesperson.

There are no clear industry standards for ESG data, which poses a challenge for investors. The ESG solution helps address such issues by integrating ESG data and analysis directly into the investment process, incorporating feeds from multiple data providers and types.