

German ESG (environmental, social and governance) research firm Oekom Research is hiring nine new analysts in the current quarter to deal with the growing demand among institutional investors and asset managers for its corporate ESG research.
Oekom spokesman Rolf Häßler said that of the new hires, four had joined at the end of January and five would follow on April 1. This brings the total number of analysts at the firm to 44 and will enable Oekom to analyse the ESG performance of more than 3,500 companies.
The new hires follow a successful 2013 for Oekom, during which its client base grew to more than 100 asset managers and institutional investors from 10 countries.
“Particularly on the international level we were able to win numerous new clients from such countries asFrance, the UK, Sweden and the US,” Oekom said in a recent newsletter. Including the new clients, the firm has more than €520bn under advice.
As reported, Oekom has deepened its partnership with GES Investment Services, its Swedish peer. Under the closer cooperation, GES will assist Oekom in compiling sustainability ratings for corporate bonds and stocks, while GES will use Oekom’s corporate ratings as a basis for its engagement efforts with companies. GES and Oekom are also developing a common methodology for their ESG rankings (see earlier report).
In the newsletter, Oekom did not provide any financial results for 2013. But according to the non-listed firm’s last public filing, it had profits of €2.4m in 2012, up significantly from the €139,730 earned in 2011.