Quantitative managers are no strangers to vast amounts of data, but AXA Rosenberg Equities is looking beyond mere balance sheet metrics in order to identify companies with the best ethical, social and governance credentials.

The California-based equities division owned by French insurer AXA, which manages some €20bn in assets, has begun using language-processing algorithms to scour company reports and news articles to help it track companies displaying the best approach to ESG.