February 4, 2021, Zurich, Switzerland, and New York, USA
BlackRock adds ESG risk data on thousands of private companies to eFront with RepRisk partnership
# Offering helps clients prepare portfolios for a lower-carbon economy and address sustainability risks
In line with BlackRock’s commitment to provide enhanced environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data and analytics, it will now offer access to ESG risk data on thousands of private companies to clients of the firm’s eFront technology solution. The comprehensive dataset, provided by RepRisk, an ESG data science company, gives eFront clients the ability to proactively identify ESG risk exposure in private investments to create a holistic view of risk across their portfolio.
eFront is BlackRock’s end-to-end technology platform for alternative investments offered as a standalone solution or as a combined solution with Aladdin, BlackRock’s operating system for investment managers. RepRisk’s timely and actionable ESG risk metrics and incident data will now be available to eFront clients through its Insight platform, which provides detailed, granular investment and benchmark data on funds and private companies. RepRisk’s independently sourced ESG data, which uses both artificial intelligence and human analysis, bolsters the capabilities provided by eFront to support enhanced decision making and investment oversight in a single solution.
“Enabling our clients to proactively identify ESG risks and exposures for private companies in their portfolios is key to better risk-adjusted returns,” said Melissa Ferraz, Managing Director at BlackRock and Global Head of eFront Insight. “Working with RepRisk on this effort is the latest example of our shared commitment to increase access to sustainability data for our clients.”
“We are proud to partner with BlackRock and to provide our data through eFront, enabling risk-focused assessments across the full spectrum of ESG, including climate related risks, environmental degradation, human rights, labor standards, and corruption,” said Alexandra Mihailescu Cichon, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at RepRisk. “We believe that providing investors with consistent, material, publicly sourced data is paramount for comprehensive risk management and holistic investment decisions. As the only ESG data provider to systematically cover private companies, we are thrilled to support the alternative investment industry’s significant step forward in sustainable capital allocation.”
This announcement builds on progress by BlackRock to deliver for clients improved ESG data and analytics, which 53% of respondents in BlackRock’s 2020 Global Sustainable Investing Survey1 cited as the biggest barrier to sustainable investing growth. One example of BlackRock’s progress is Aladdin Climate, the first technology application to offer investors measures of both the physical risk of climate change and the transition risk to a low-carbon economy on portfolios.
In the year ahead, BlackRock will be taking several steps to help investors prepare their portfolios for a net zero economy, including capturing opportunities created by the net zero transition. This builds on efforts from 2020, where BlackRock delivered on a range of sustainability actions, including its goal of having 100% of its active and advisory strategies ESG integrated — covering U.S. $2.7 trillion in assets2.
About RepRisk
Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Switzerland, RepRisk is a pioneer in ESG data science that leverages the combination of AI and machine learning with human intelligence to systematically analyze public information and identify material ESG risks. RepRisk’s flagship product, the RepRisk ESG Risk Platform, is the world’s largest and most comprehensive due diligence database on ESG and business conduct risks, with expertise in 23 languages and coverage of 165,000+ public and private companies and 40,000+ infrastructure projects. For more than a decade, the world’s leading financial institutions and corporations have trusted RepRisk for due diligence and risk management across their operations, business relationships, and investments. For more information, visit www.reprisk.com.
About BlackRock
BlackRock’s purpose is to help more and more people experience financial well-being. As a fiduciary to investors and a leading provider of financial technology, we help millions of people build savings that serve them throughout their lives by making investing easier and more affordable. For additional information on BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com/corporate
About eFront
eFront is a leading technology solution for alternative investment management, covering the needs of alternative investment professionals end-to-end, and used by over 850 clients worldwide across all major alternative asset classes. From fundraising, fund administration and reporting to data services and analytics, the platform provides capabilities to support decision making and investment oversight.
As a part of BlackRock, eFront and BlackRock’s Aladdin® investment technology platform bring together public and private asset classes to create an industry-leading multi-asset investment technology solution for investment professionals globally.