MSCI has launched two new ESG indexes, the MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index (WIN) and the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index.
The Government Pension Investment Fund for Japan (GPIF), one of the world’s largest pension funds, has selected these innovative MSCI indexes as benchmarks for their ESG investment strategy. This reflects the growing use of MSCI ESG indexes globally as part of institutional investors’ investment processes.
Recent research has suggested that greater participation of women in the workforce may have benefits for the Japanese economy. As a result, the Japanese government has set out explicit goals to encourage women’s participation and promotion in the business world. The MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index (WIN) comprises companies whose gender diversity initiatives have been determined by MSCI ESG Research to encourage more women to enter or return to the workforce.
The second index, the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index, targets companies with the best ESG profile relative to their sector peers. The index is designed using MSCI ESG Ratings and targets companies with the highest ESG quality from within its parent index, the MSCI Japan IMI Top 500 Index, and offers institutional investors a method to integrate ESG into their investment process.
“MSCI is a leader in providing ESG indexes for investors to use when making informed asset allocation and investment strategy decisions,” says Diana Tidd (pictured), MSCI’s Head of Index. “The Japan Empowering Women Index (WIN) and the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders indexes we launched today reflect the thought leadership and innovation we bring to the world’s largest institutional investors as they seek to integrate ESG into their investment processes, and benchmark selection.”
Seiichiro Uchi, Head of Japan Index & ESG Coverage at MSCI, says: “We are pleased that GPIF has selected these new MSCI benchmarks as they expand their ESG investing initiatives. These two indexes come at a time when the importance of ESG integration is becoming ever more important and diversifying Japan’s workforce is increasingly viewed as a key factor in the country’s continued economic development.”
