MassMutual named one of the 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute for the 5th consecutive year

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Feb. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as one of the 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies.

MassMutual has been recognized for 5 consecutive years and is one of only 3 honorees in the life insurance industry, underscoring the company's commitment to leading with integrity and prioritizing ethical business practices.  To be named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies, the Ethisphere Institute measures a company's corporate governance, compliance and ethics program, citizenship, sustainability, corporate responsibility, leadership, innovation and reputation.

"MassMutual's commitment to ethics and integrity has been in place since we wrote our first policy more than 166 years ago," said Roger Crandall, Chairman, President and CEO. "Being named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the 5^th consecutive year is an honor for our talented, dedicated employees and advisors who work hard each day to do the right thing, and reflects the confidence and trust that our five million customers have placed in us."

In 2018, 135 honorees were recognized, spanning 23 countries and 57 industries. The twelfth class of honorees had record levels of involvement with their stakeholders and their communities around the world. Measuring and improving culture, leading authentically and committing to transparency, diversity and inclusion were all priorities for honorees.

"While the discourse around the world changed profoundly in 2017, a stronger voice emerged. Global corporations operating with a common rule of law are now society's strongest force to improve the human condition. This year we saw companies increasingly finding their voice. The World's Most Ethical Companies in particular continued to show exemplary leadership," explained Ethisphere's CEO, Timothy Erblich. "I congratulate everyone at MassMutual for being recognized as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies."

Last month, MassMutual was named a World's Most Admired Company by FORTUNE^® Magazine* and was the top-ranked mutual company in the life and health insurance industry category.  Leading in innovation, MassMutual also ranked in the top three for people management, use of corporate assets, quality of management, social responsibility and financial soundness in its industry.

Ethics & Performance

Once again, the 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies have proven that operating with integrity leads to greater financial performance. Research has found that, when indexed, listed World's Most Ethical Companies outperformed the U.S. Large Cap Index over five years by 10.72 percent and over three years by 4.88 percent. Ethisphere refers to this as the Ethics Premium.

Methodology & Scoring

The World's Most Ethical Companies assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute's Ethics Quotient^® (EQ) framework, which offers a quantitative way to assess a company's performance in an objective, consistent and standardized manner. The information collected provides a comprehensive sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies rather than all aspects of corporate governance, risk, sustainability, compliance and ethics.

Scores are generated in five key categories: ethics and compliance program (35 percent), corporate citizenship and responsibility (20 percent), culture of ethics (20 percent), governance (15 percent) and leadership, innovation and reputation (10 percent). All companies that participate in the assessment process receive their scores, providing them with valuable insights into how they stack up against leading organizations.

­Honorees

The full list of the 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found at https://worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees

Best practices and insights from the 2018 honorees will be released in a report and webcast in March and April of this year. Sign up to receive the report.

About MassMutual

MassMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policyowners. MassMutual offers a wide range of financial products and services, including life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, annuities, retirement plans and other employee benefits. For more information, visit www.massmutual.com.

About the Ethisphere Institute

The Ethisphere® Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character and measure and improve culture. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World's Most Ethical Companies recognition program and provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA). More information about Ethisphere can be found at: https://ethisphere.com.

*Jan. 19, 2018

Contact: 
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SOURCE MassMutual