MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI)

MSCI Inc., commonly recognized by its stock symbol MSCI, operates in the investment industry, providing critical decision support tools and solutions for the global investment community. The company's mission is to help investors navigate the challenges of a transforming investment landscape and make better investment decisions. MSCI's offerings are designed to equip investors with insights to adapt and understand a complex and rapidly changing marketplace.

MSCI's primary business activities revolve around the provision of indexes, analytics, ESG and climate solutions, and real assets and private capital solutions. These services cater to clients in various countries and regions, offering a comprehensive range of investment support tools.

The company generates revenue through four primary segments: Index, Analytics, ESG and Climate, and Real Assets and Private Capital Solutions. The Index segment, which contributed 57.4% of MSCI's total revenue in 2023, offers a range of indexes used for developing indexed financial products, performance benchmarking, portfolio construction, and asset allocation. These indexes include MSCI Global Equity Indexes, ESG and Climate Indexes, Factor Indexes, Thematic Indexes, and Client-Designed Indexes.

The Analytics segment, accounting for 24.4% of MSCI's revenue, provides risk management, performance attribution, and portfolio management content, applications, and services. This segment offers a range of tools and capabilities such as factor-based analytics, pricing models, single security analytics, time series-based analytics, stress testing, performance attribution, portfolio optimization, and liquidity risk analytics.

The ESG and Climate segment offers products and services helping institutional investors understand how sustainability considerations might impact the long-term risk and return of their portfolio and individual security-level investments. This segment provides data, ratings, research, and tools to help investors navigate increasing regulation, meet new client demands, and better integrate ESG and climate elements into their investment processes.

The Real Assets and Private Capital Solutions segment, a smaller contributor to MSCI's revenue, provides data and analysis on private real estate investments, REITs, and other real assets. This segment also offers a range of products and services, including private equity and hedge fund data and analytics.

MSCI maintains a strong position within the investment industry, facing competitors in each of its segments. In the Index segment, competitors include S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, FTSE Russell, Solactive AG, Nasdaq Inc, and Bloomberg Finance L.P. In the Analytics segment, competitors include Axioma (part of SimCorp), BlackRock Solutions, Bloomberg, and FactSet Research Systems Inc. In the ESG and Climate segment, competitors include Sustainalytics Holding B.V. (part of Morningstar, Inc.), Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (majority owned by Deutsche Börse AG), Trucost (an S&P Global Inc. business), Refinitiv (a London Stock Exchange Group business), and Bloomberg.

MSCI's differentiated research-enhanced content and client-centric approach set the company apart in the industry. These advantages enable MSCI to build strong relationships with clients globally and understand and cater to their needs effectively. The company's strategy focuses on extending its leadership in research-enhanced content across asset classes, leading the enablement of ESG and climate investment integration, enhancing distribution and content-enabling technology, empowering client customization, and strengthening client relationships.

MSCI's product and service offerings include MSCI Global Equity Indexes, ESG and Climate Indexes, Factor Indexes, Thematic Indexes, Client-Designed Indexes, risk management tools, performance attribution, portfolio management content, applications, services, factor-based analytics, pricing models, single security analytics, time series-based analytics, stress testing, portfolio optimization, liquidity risk analytics, private asset data, and analysis.