The Ethos Group
The Ethos Group consists of the Ethos Foundation, created in 1997, and Ethos Services, the operational entity created up in 2000.
The Ethos Foundation was created by two pension funds, one public, the Caisse de prévoyance du personnel enseignant de l'instruction publique et des fonctionnaires de l'administration du canton de Genève (CPEG), and the other private, the Caisse paritaire de prévoyance de l'industrie et de la construction (CPPIC). It is a foundation under Swiss law, whose members must be Swiss pension funds or public benefit foundations.
The aim of the Ethos Foundation is to help pension funds invest in a sustainable and responsible manner, taking into account environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. Its two objectives are defined in its Charter since 1997: to promote socially responsible investment (SRI) and to foster a stable and prosperous socio-economic environment for the benefit of present and future civil society. Its members give Ethos considerable negotiating power and influence in advocating ESG best practices among listed companies.
In order to achieve its objectives, the Ethos Foundation created Ethos Services in 2000, which currently employs around 40 people in Geneva and Zurich. The company offers institutional and private investors a range of services dedicated to SRI, as well as investment funds and sustainable stock market indices. The Ethos Foundation also offers training courses for members of the pension funds boards or management and investment committees who wish to deepen their knowledge of sustainable finance.
Our philosophy
Ethos' philosophy is based on one conviction: companies that respect ESG best practices are more likely to be sustainable in the long term and, as a result, to offer better returns to their shareholders.
Convinced of the positive impact that sustainability and good corporate governance can have on the performance of an investment portfolio, over the years Ethos Services has developed services entirely dedicated to SRI and the promotion of sustainable development.
Our values:
Independance
Both the Foundation and Ethos Services are financed exclusively by investors, i.e. the members of the Foundation and the clients of Ethos Services. Ethos has no commercial relationship with the companies it analyses and with which it maintains an ongoing dialogue.
Professionalism
Ethos has more than 25 years' experience in the world of sustainable finance and SRI. It can count on a team of ESG analysts with unique experience in Switzerland.
Transparency
Transparency is the cornerstone of SRI and one of the most important principles Ethos promotes among listed companies. As part of its commitment to setting an example, Ethos publishes on its website all official documents, as well as all documents relating to its SRI approach. Ethos' voting recommendations are also published five days before the general meetings of the companies concerned.
