OREANDA-NEWS. December 21, 2012. Pension funds are already using BM&FBOVESPA’s Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) to guide their investments in publicly traded companies. “The value of ISE – principal studies and the perspective of investors” survey shows that 75% of the interviewed institutions used or plan to use in the next 12 months, for investment analyses, the questionnaire filled out by companies for the ISE selection process. The survey involved 12 pension funds, which manage BRL 260 billion, representing 45% of the total estimated investment of these bodies in Brazil. This year, the number of companies that authorized publication of questionnaires on the website rose from eight to 14.

The survey was presented by the Sustainability Study Center (GVCes) of the Sao Paulo Business Administration School of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV-EAESP), on November 30 during the “Value of Indices and Reports” seminars held at BM&FBOVESPA. The study was commissioned by the Exchange and outlined a complete Sustainable and Responsible Investment (ISR) overview explaining the main trends, contributions toward investment decision making and the importance of transparency. Its objective is to understand the way in which the ISE aids and can contribute towards investment analysis work and to perceptions about what type of process this can generate for investors, companies and society.

The study includes several domestic and foreign surveys that have been made about this subject, which show the tangible gains for investors through share prices and to companies through market capitalization.

According to the survey, the average return on sustainability funds was higher than for Ibovespa in all of the periods assessed. The volatility of the sustainability funds, furthermore, was lower than that of Ibovespa in all comparisons. In 2012, ISE rose 14.05%, while Ibovespa gained 1.27%. Since its inception on November 30, 2005, the ISE has gained 130.27%, against 80.08% for Ibovespa. The comparisons were based on the closing figures for November 30, 2012.