Beyond Ratings

Paris - June 3, 2019.
Newfund is pleased to announce the acquisition of Beyond Ratings by London Stock Exchange Group.

Hurricanes in the United States, tsunamis in Indonesia, torrential rains in south-eastern France, recent events once again reflect the consequences of climate change. At a time when experts are urging economic and political actors to act before it is too late, Beyond Ratings offers a visionary positioning in green finance. 

 "Our methodologies factor in traditional financial elements, but also study how ESG factors (Environmental, Social and Governance) are likely to alter or improve the borrower's ability to repay his debt. Our promise is to offer ESG-integrated credit rating" explains Rodolphe Bocquet, founder of Beyond Ratings. Faced with the big players such as Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch, Beyond Ratings' strategy is to expand its offer to become the first in its category: financial rating from an ESG perspective.

In just 4 years, Beyond Ratings (BR) has created a recognized brand and is now attracting attention. It covers over 146 counttries with a scoring, informing investors of the quality of the soverign debt, ESG factors being fully taken into account.

Actually, dynamics of the financial markets on the ESG subject have changed enormously. And it is in an extremely favourable context that BR is in the process to significantly strengthen its expertise and methodology.

The arrival of Elie Hériard Dubreuil, former senior director of Standard & Poor's Global, in charge of accelerating the deployment of the enhanced rating offer to governments, supranational entities and local authorities, is a strong signal sent to market players. Around him, a new dynamic is taking shape, notably with John Chambers, former Chairman of the S&P Sovereign Debt Committee, who will oversee the BR Scientific Committee. Two top recruits who validate the attractiveness of the start-up model.

The merger with Grizzli, one of the pioneers in corporate bond analysis including ESG criteria and the integration of Valéry Lucas-Léclin into the team, allows BR to leverage synergies in terms of methodology to cover more asset classes. It endorses a collaboration of several years.

This ambitious strategy is already starting to pay off. The World Bank, the French Development Agency but also BNP Asset Management, Maif and Covea are among Beyond Ratings' clients. Clients sometimes take a long time to decide, but once acquired, they remain loyal to the company's services.

The company is based in Paris, France and works with the some of the largest financial institutions worldwide.