8.13.2007 - 10:59am ET

(CSRwire) August 13, 2007 - Innovest Strategic Value Advisors has downgraded its Intangible Value Assessment of Merrill Lynch based on the company's relative performance of social, environmental, and strategic governance (ESG) issues relative to sector peers.

Downloadable reports for companies in the sector and more are available for purchase through Innovest's partner www.csrwire.com/reports/independent

Peter Wilkes, Managing Director at Innovest stated, "Innovest's ratings are an indicator of a company's performance on intangible value drivers and management quality. This information is used to support an investor’s existing financial knowledge of a company. It is widely accepted among investors that extra-financial information is now required to get a full understanding of a company’s prospects. "

By assessing differentials typically not identified by traditional securities analysis, Innovest's IVA ratings uncover hidden risks and value potential for investors. Ratings range from AAA (best) to CCC (worst). Scores on sub factors range from 10 (best) to 0 (worst).

Some of the areas of analysis for companies include:

Supply Chain
Human Rights
Regulatory/Stakeholder relations
Health and Safety
Environmental Strategy and management
Carbon Risk Mitigation
Labor Relations
Product Safety
Workplace issues

About Innovest

Innovest Strategic Value Advisors is an internationally recognized investment research and advisory firm specializing 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.
Innovest currently has offices in New York City, Toronto, San Francisco, London, Paris, Sydney, and Tokyo.

For more information please contact:

Commitment to Transparency: This organization is committed to transparency and stakeholder dialogue and encourages your comments and feedback.
Independent Research Reports To search for independent research reports from Innovest Startegic Value Advisors about the social, environmental and governance performance of this company and its industry, click here
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