Press Release

ISS STOXX Research Institute: Strong Governance Foundations May Predict Which Companies Thrive in the AI Era

NEW YORK (August 20, 2026) — ISS STOXX GmbH, a leading provider of comprehensive and data-centric research and technology solutions that help capital market participants identify investment opportunities, detect qualitative and quantitative portfolio company risks, and meet evolving regulatory requirements, today announced findings of a new report by the ISS STOXX Research Institute that suggest strong governance foundations may predict which companies thrive in the AI era.

The report, Secure by Design: Customer Protection in the AI Age, is the first in a three-part series, Investment Stewardship in the AI Era: Opportunities, Risks, and Trade-Offs Ahead, which examines AI and capital stewardship. Secure by Design explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping the concept of customer protection and what it means for investors evaluating corporate governance and risk management. The report finds that as AI becomes increasingly embedded in products, services, and customer interactions, traditional risk management approaches focused primarily on privacy and cybersecurity are no longer sufficient. Instead, companies must also focus on protecting customer outcomes by ensuring AI-enabled products are reliable, safe, fair, and well governed.

The report notes that AI is influencing how consumers obtain information, make decisions, and interact with businesses, expanding customer protection matters beyond data security to avoiding harmful, unreliable, or unintended AI-related outcomes for customers. While existing concerns around privacy, cybersecurity, discrimination, labor disruption, and safety remain important, AI introduces additional risks that can arise even when systems remain secure and compliant with privacy frameworks and data protection regulations. These risks include biased outputs, inaccurate recommendations, model failures, poor-quality training data, and inadequate oversight. Such failures can create significant risks for customers and businesses alike.

“The need for governance practices spanning the entire AI lifecycle, from problem definition and data collection through development, deployment, monitoring, and maintenance, is clear,” said Mirtha Kastrapeli, Global Head of the ISS STOXX Research Institute. “As the report illustrates, we see a close parallel to secure software development practices, with AI systems requiring safeguards that help ensure they remain secure, reliable, and aligned with customer interests.”

The report also suggests that AI does not create an entirely new category of customer-protection challenges but rather amplifies existing responsibilities. As AI increasingly shapes customer experiences, the focus of governance is shifting from protecting customer information to protecting customer outcomes. For investors, evaluating both digital security and product governance capabilities may provide an early indication of which companies are best positioned to navigate emerging AI-related risks.

To download a copy of Secure by Design: Customer Protection in the AI Age, please click here.

About the ISS STOXX Research Institute
The ISS STOXX Research Institute develops data-driven thought leadership and applied research on governance, sustainability, stewardship, and capital markets topics. Combining proprietary ISS STOXX datasets with subject-matter expertise, the Institute seeks to provide investors and market participants with practical insights into emerging trends, risks, and opportunities.

About ISS STOXX
ISS STOXX provides actionable insights through its comprehensive product offerings, proven expertise, and high-quality data that capital market participants around the world can use to inform their decision-making. Across indices, investment stewardship, corporate governance, sustainability, and fund intelligence, institutional investors and companies rely on us to help them manage investments, strengthen their governance practices, and bring new products to market. ISS STOXX, which is owned by Deutsche Börse Group, employs approximately 4,000 professionals operating across 34 locations in 20 countries. ISS STOXX’s clients include many of the world’s leading institutional investors and corporate issuers who turn to ISS STOXX for its objective and varied offerings

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David Daryanani, Communications
press@iss-stoxx.com

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