From Morality to Materiality: Denominator launches largest human capital financial analysis

New York, April 14, 2026 — Denominator, the world's leading provider of social and human capital data, today announced its financial materiality research project – an extensive analysis examining the connection between human capital and financial outcomes.

Most CEOs classify employees as their greatest asset, yet investors often know little or nothing about how companies manage their people when making investment and ownership decisions. This paradox and the rapid AI developments are core drivers for an increased focus on human capital management. Denominator's latest research addresses core questions:  

• Are social and human capital financially material?

• If so, which factors demonstrate the strongest correlations? And with what financial metrics?

• Can causality between human capital and financial outcomes be argued?  

The goal is to equip both companies and investors with evidence needed to make informed decisions about workforce and engagement strategies, ESG integration, and long-term value creation — and to provide the data infrastructure that frameworks like TISFD and ISSB require to set effective standards.

"For too long, human capital has been treated as a moral imperative rather than a measurable driver of financial performance. This research marks a turning point, moving the conversation from morality to materiality.” - Anders Rodenberg, CEO, Denominator.

Scope of research project

• Covers a 3-year period (2022-2024), combining statistical correlations with quartile-based findings.

• Draws from a global universe of 35,000+ public and private companies spanning 4 regions and 16 sectors.

• Incorporates direct comparability across market caps in both developed and emerging markets.

• Analyzes 25+ financial metrics – including revenue, market cap, EBITDA, debt, and P/E – in both absolute and ratio form to allow cross-company analysis.

• Includes 150+ social factors across the board of directors, executive management, workforce, and organizational themes.

Drawing on its proprietary data, the analysis includes both raw metrics as well as ratings and scores – including Equileap Gender Equality Scorecard™.

"Human capital is the most underpriced factor in investment analysis today. Through extensive dialogue with asset owners and asset managers, we know the demand for this evidence is real. With this research, we are giving the market what it has been asking for: rigorous, large-scale proof that how companies manage their people matters to financial performance.” - Diana van Maasdijk, CCO at Denominator.

Positive Signals in Preliminary Findings

Through this analysis, Denominator is building a comprehensive evidence base that explores the link between human capital and financial outcomes across global markets and sectors. The research builds on existing signals, including Equileap's indexes’ performance and Moody’s research, that point to positive relationships.

Equileap's Gender Equality indexes provide historical evidence of a positive connection. For example, across five regional indexes – covering Emerging Markets, France, the US, the Eurozone, and Japan – companies with stronger gender equality performance have consistently outperformed their respective benchmarks, pointing toward potential materiality in gender diversity practices.

Additionally, a Moody’s research on board gender diversity found that North American investment-grade companies had greater racial and ethnic diversity on boards.

The initial analysis of the preliminary findings indicates positive correlations between human capital performance and financial outcomes. In the coming time, Denominator will explore:

• Combinations of human capital metrics and financial outcomes with statistically meaningful positive correlations.

• Pinpoint “top factors” – human capital metrics that demonstrate positive correlations across multiple financial outcomes, time horizons, and market cap segments.

• Determine whether patterns hold universally or are specific to particular geographies and sectors, distinguishing global signals from regional or industry-specific findings.  

"This research doesn't just answer the questions the industry has been asking – it opens a new: What becomes possible when human capital is fully integrated into investment decisions? We are in the midst of a fundamental shift in how risk and opportunity are evaluated. This evidence base gives investors  the foundation to move from intuition to informed decisions.” - Emma Helbo, Head of External Relations & Communications, Denominator.

Open Invitation for Industry Collaboration

Throughout 2026, a series of publications will be released, breaking down findings by selected factors, regional or sector lens. The research provides asset owners and asset managers with evidence-based insights for integrating human capital factors into portfolio construction, risk assessment, and stewardship strategies. Corporate leaders can use the findings to evaluate workforce management practices and inform strategic decisions on human capital investment.

Denominator invites industry stakeholders such as asset owners, asset managers, academia, and corporates to engage and collaborate on the research – to ensure the project addresses the most pressing questions faced in the market. Additionally, we welcome input on the methodology and feedback on preliminary findings.

Interested parties can contact Denominator to learn more about collaboration opportunities or to discuss how our data can support investment and workforce strategies.

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