12.05.2006 - 02:48pm ET

(CSRwire) PORTLAND, ME - December 5, 2006 -- IW Financial, a leading provider of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research, consulting and portfolio management solutions for the financial services industry, has introduced the EIRIS International Workstation, giving users the ability to quickly research up to 90 ESG factors on more than 1,300 international companies, it was announced today.

The new workstation combines IW Financial's proprietary analytical and screening technology with international research data from the non-profit Ethical Investment Research Services (EIRIS), the industry's most respected global ESG research provider. Data points covered include environmental procedures and performance; governance, including board independence and bribery and corruption policies; stakeholder relations such as employee options grants; industry involvement; supply chain policies and systems. IW Financial is the exclusive U.S. distributor of EIRIS' international research.

"In the U.S., both institutional and retail investors are becoming much more active globally and want to be able to analyze non-U.S. investments using ESG criteria," said Sam Pierce, chief executive officer at IW Financial. "The EIRIS International Workstation gives asset managers, plan sponsors, and other financial professionals the ability to quickly and easily screen and rate international companies."

"We have seen a flood of demand for ESG research," said Peter Webster, Executive Director at EIRIS. "Our partnership with IW Financial has focused on making that data available to more investors and fiduciaries in the U.S. in a way that makes it easy to incorporate into the investing process. The new EIRIS International Workstation accomplishes this, using IW Financial's patented technology and analytics to provide access to our data in an intuitively easy-to-use way."

IW Financial is a leading provider of research and technology that helps clients build and manage ESG portfolios based on user-defined criteria investment criteria. The firm's clients encompass asset management firms, private banks, faith-based investment firms, educational institutions, and financial planning organizations.

Solutions include the IWF Workstation, a Web-based analytic platform that utilizes the firm's patented technology to streamline the research process and produce customized evaluations of investments and investment opportunities; IWF Advisor, a private labeled tool for broker dealers and advisor networks; and IWF Consulting, which develops customized ESG solutions for asset managers and the managed accounts industry.

About IW Financial

IW Financial is a leading provider of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research, consulting and portfolio management solutions for asset management firms, managed accounts sponsors, institutional investors, plan sponsors, and investment advisors. With its unique combination of investment industry expertise, unbiased research, and technology solutions, IW Financial helps industry professionals capitalize on growing investor demand by incorporating ESG factors into investment platforms, products, and portfolios, adding value to the money management process while strengthening client relationships.

IW Financial is based in Portland, Maine. For more information, visit www.iwfinancial.com.

About EIRIS

EIRIS is the leading global provider of independent research into the social, environmental and ethical performance of companies. EIRIS, a UK based organization with offices in the US and Japan, has partnered with international research partners to assemble the industry's most comprehensive, objective research. With coverage of more than 2,800 European, North American and Asian companies, EIRIS assists a broad range of investors including retail & institutional fund managers, pension funds, foundations and private client investment managers in the implementation of SRI strategies.

For more information, visit www.eiris.org or contact Lisa Hayles on +44 20 7840 5721, lisa.hayles@eiris.org.

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