Gleaning financially material information from companies requires expert capabilities, trusting partnerships, and robust data sets. Our commitment to rigorous analysis helps investors gain insights they need to make informed decisions.
R-Factor is an ESG score developed by State Street Global Advisors that leverages multiple data sources and aligns them to the widely accepted, transparent Sustainability Accounting Standards Board Materiality Framework (SASB) for over 12,500 publicly listed companies. SSGA uses R-Factor as a quantitative input to a variety of investment solutions and as a metric in relevant reports and factsheets. Additionally, a company may request its R-Factor score (instructions are posted here on ssga.com) and may also request a related engagement with the SSGA Asset Stewardship team. Finally, R-Factor scores are among the many inputs the SSGA Asset Stewardship team may review when performing analysis on portfolio companies before engagements.
We believe availability of high-quality, financially material, and consistently reported ESG data represents one of the biggest challenges facing asset managers as they work to meet the growing demand for sustainability-focused investing from their clients.
We designed R-Factor™ around four core pillars:
For investors to be able to fully trust and integrate ESG scoring into their investment process, they must have confidence that the ESG considerations are material and have a demonstrated link to sustainable long-term value creation.
We selected the SASB materiality map, as well as national and/or investor developed corporate governance codes, because they are transparent frameworks supported by large numbers of investors. We support these frameworks as they send a unified message to companies about which ESG factors are material to a company’s performance and are therefore important to disclose and address.
R-Factor™ is powered by the raw metrics from five different data sets: four that inform the ESG component of the score and one that informs the CorpGov component of the score. This approach increases the overall coverage of our data set, filling in the gaps that exist with any one data provider. Using the inputs from multiple providers also reduces the potential biases that may be built into a provider's methodology.
During engagements with portfolio companies, we disclose companies’ R-Factor™ scores, as well as the underlying basis for those scores, at the companies’ requests.
R-Factor offers clear guidance on which ESG topics to focus on and disclose to investors, while utilizing the SASB Materiality Framework as a prism to identify industry-specific, relevant ESG issues.
Companies: Request Your R-Factor™ Score
By investing in ESG solutions powered by R-Factor™, investors have the opportunity to help ensure their capital is being allocated to companies that are focusing on managing and mitigating financially material ESG risks as defined by the SASB Materiality Framework.
R-Factor™ Reinventing ESG Investing through a Transparent Scoring System
Learn how State Street Global Advisors leverages stewardship and investment expertise to create a transparent scoring methodology that we believe will become an integral part of the financial system.
For questions or any further information on R-Factor scoring, please email us at myrfactor@ssga.com.