
About ESG.IAMA

Finance challenge
The world of finance is in confusion.
Most funds on the market claim to be “sustainable,” and ESG ratings are discordant. Credibility cannot be separated from the ESG Identity of the entities, thus the Asset Manager itself, which must be consistent with the funds’ offerings.
Scientific challenge
Assessing the ESG Identity of an Asset Manager is a horizon that has never been explored.
It is necessary to know every aspect of it, from governance, board and policy, to investment processes, engagement, voting, and finally to the offering. To do this, it is necessary to assess the Asset Manager as a company.
Political challenge
The ambition of Asset Managers is not only to integrate ESG internally, but also to be proactive toward the “polis”:
To enhance their responsibility as a πολιτικός subject, as a citizen of the polis, by staying true to their principles and transforming them into a strategic asset. ESG Identity is the key to fulfilling this role.
ESG.IAMA
What is it?
In 2022, ET.Group developed the scientific project ESG.IAMA (ESG Identity Asset Manager Assessment). The first international quantitative assessment solution designed to measure the ESG Identity of Asset Managers.
ESG Identity
It is the set of distinctive elements of an entity, starting with its governance and ending with the ESG consistency and coherence of its offering to the market, through the ways in which the entity thinks (its ESG corporate culture) and engages on the sustainable front (its ESG purpose).
How does it work?
The ranking of the ESG Identity is assigned through the processing of the scores obtained by the Asset Managers on about more than 500 KPIs in the ESG.IAMA questionnaire. The methodology is based on the study of best practices and regulations, as well as research and know-how developed by ET.Group in the 10 years of work on the ESG Identity Corporate Index (ESG.ICI). The ESG.IAMA questionnaire methodology is further developed with independent input from the ESG.IAMA Scientific Committee.
Why the need for ESG.IAMA?
The issue of sustainability is shifting from the product to Asset Managers as companies. ESG identity is emerging as a crucial variable to enable the system to identify Asset Managers that are truly ESG and consistent with their offerings. This makes it possible to distinguish critically among the tide of “sustainable” products that has filled the market and to protect against possible risks due to reputational and credibility crises of the Asset Managers to whom capital has been entrusted.
Methodology
The assessment consists of a grid of closed-ended questions whose evaluation is based on a predetermined ex ante score that is applied in a standard way to all companies: the final score is given by the summation of the scores obtained on the individual questions, for a theoretical maximum of 100 points. The questionnaire consists of five sections for the Ordinary Area, divided in turn into nineteen specific survey subsections, and two sections for the Extra-ordinary Area.
Experience
ESG.ICI
Ten years of experience with ESG.ICI (ESG Identity Corporate Index – formerly IGI), the first international quantitative index of the level of ESG integration in corporate identity. Implemented by ET.Group, the project is based on a corporate assessment that aims to assess aspects of governance, corporate culture, risk safeguards, business ethics, and the company’s relationship with the relevant community. ESG.ICI 2024 covers 53% of the 40 companies in the FTSE MIB. And it covers 45% of the top 100 listed companies on the Italian Stock Exchange.
SRI Awards
Six years of experience with the SRI Awards, given to Asset Managers on a quantitative basis by applying an evaluation matrix developed by ET.Group and structured on three macro areas: ESG rating; risk and return performance; and Asset Manager governance.
Compliance
• Bankitalia Thematic Investigation
• ESG guidelines and consultations of ESAs
• EU SFDR regulation
• EU Shareholders’ Rights Directive
• EU Taxonomy
• EU Directive on Whistleblowing
• FCA consultation paper on SDR and investment labels
• CGN GISD Alliance Model Mandate
• IIGCC Net Zero Voting Guide
• IOSCO Good Sustainable Finance Practices
• UNPRI Due Diligence Questionnaire
• Other existing questionnaires
• OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct
• SBTi

Structure
The 2024 edition of ESG.IAMA analyzes 7 aspects of the Asset Manager:
1. How sustainability is internalized at the corporate level in its governance processes
2. How the process of ESG-specific investments is structured
3. How the process of managing invested assets is structured and how dialogue takes place to achieve certain ESG goals
4. How much of its products are sustainable
5. How proactive it is towards, and beyond, regulations
1 Extra. How much it is influenced by politics and how much in turn it influences them
2 Extra. How much it focuses on Transition activities, so not only how much it invests in what is sustainable now, but also on what will become sustainable in the future.