Swiss Responsible Equity Index

In 2024, Ethos launched a Swiss equity index dedicated to sustainability: the Swiss Responsible Equity Index (SREI). This index is composed of companies included in the SPI Index that have an Ethos ESG rating of A+, A- or B+ on a scale from A+ to C.

The SREI Index is managed by Ethos, which is responsible for determining the ESG ratings and exclusion criteria used, while SIX calculates the index in accordance with market standards.

Key Features of the SREI:

• Exclude companies whose ESG practices are insufficient. Ethos wishes to promote investment in companies that manage their ESG issues with conviction and whose extra-financial performance is better than that of their peers;
• A company's sustainability performance is assessed according to its exposure to ESG risks and the way it manages them. This assessment is carried out in three stages, taking into account the company's governance, its sustainability strategy (transparency, clarity and consistency of objectives, ambition and management skills) and its extra-financial reporting;
  
• The analysis is completed by exclusion criteria. All companies whose products are incompatible with the values set out in the Ethos Foundation Charter - i.e. which generate more than 5% of their sales in the arms, tobacco, gambling, pornography, GMOs, nuclear energy, or non-conventional fossil fuel sectors - or whose behaviour violates the fundamental principles of ethics and sustainable development are excluded from the SREI Index.

The index review takes place annually on the third Friday in September simultaneous to the official implementation of the annual SPI Index review. The SREI was launched on January 03, 2024 and was standardized on December 29, 2023 with a base value of 100 points.