Credit Suisse Launches Social Awareness Index

Companies with a strong commitment to socially aware policies are identified using the 10 principles of the United Nations Global Compact in four categories: Labor Standards, Human Rights, Environment and Anti-Corrruption, as defined by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors in their Global Compact Plus screen. The companies with the most attractive fundamentals according to HOLT measures are then selected for the index.

Jessica Houtepen, Managing Director and Head of Global Equity Derivatives Structuring at Credit Suisse, said: "With ethical and socially responsible investing high on the international agenda, we launched the Credit Suisse Social Awareness Index to offer investments adhering to these principles. As with all our other indices, we can structure a wide range of products tailored to investors' requirements."

Dr Matthew Kiernan, CEO and founder of Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, said: "The UN's Global Compact has provided company leaders and investors with the beginnings of a "road map" for excellence in 21st century management. In the increasingly complex world of stakeholder challenges, this innovative new index from Credit Suisse will help give investors access to the better-managed, more agile socially aware companies."

David Holland, Managing Director and Co-Head of HOLT Valuation and Analytics at Credit Suisse, said: "The world's leading fund managers use the HOLT CFROI® framework to analyze a company's wealth-creation performance and to value its share price. This index is another example of our ability to provide investors with an appealing theme and attractive stocks based on HOLT metrics."

A universe of socially aware stocks was selected using Innovest's Global Compact Plus screen. The pool was narrowed to the largest 300 stocks by market capitalization. HOLT factors were used to assess the operational quality, cash flow valuation and market sentiment of these companies, selecting the top 60 to constitute the index. The index is calculated by Standard & Poor's and rebalanced every March and September.

The Credit Suisse Social Awareness Index is the latest in a series of indices developed by Credit Suisse which leverage the Bank's breadth of knowledge for the benefit of its clients. These innovative products underscore Credit Suisse's aim to provide investors with indices that offer exposure to long-term themes backed by strong fundamental research and a disciplined approach to valuation. Other indices include the Credit Suisse Agriculture Index, the Credit Suisse Emerging Markets Infrastructure Index and the Credit Suisse Global Warming Index.

Notes to Editors Credit Suisse's HOLT business offers clients unique insights into corporate performance and valuation, emphasizing a company's cash generating ability and overall potential for value creation. HOLT's proprietary CFROI® framework includes over 20,000 stocks from more than 59 countries.

Innovest Strategic Value Advisors is the leading provider of extra-financial research for the investment community. Innovest specializes in analyzing companies' performance on environmental, social, and strategic governance issues, with a particular focus on their impact on competitiveness, profitability, and share price performance.

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