Investor News

MSCI makes public ESG metrics for indexes and funds to drive greater ESG transparency

May 20, 2020 at 12:00 PM EDT
  • MSCI Limited makes public ESG metrics for all of its EU regulated equity and blended indexes.
  • MSCI ESG Research LLC makes public ESG metrics for 36,000 mutual funds and ETFs

NEW YORK, May 20, 2020 - MSCI today announced that it has made public the MSCI ESG Fund Ratings provided by MSCI ESG Research LLC for 36,000 multi-asset class mutual funds and ETFs, and MSCI Limited has made public ESG metrics for all of its indexes covered by the European Union (EU) Benchmark Regulation (BMR). The ESG ratings and metrics are available as part of two new search tools now available to anyone on the MSCI website.

The launch is part of a wider ESG transparency initiative to provide consistent and comparable ESG metrics at the company, fund and index level. This follows the release of the MSCI ESG Ratings of over 2,800 issuers in November last year and is part of MSCI’s ongoing effort to encourage and support investors to integrate ESG considerations throughout their investment processes, as outlined in MSCI’s Principles of Sustainable Investing.

  • The MSCI ESG Fund Ratings search tool1 provides the ESG Fund Rating of a mutual fund or ETF, its peer and global rank, the ESG Rating distribution of the fund’s holdings and other ESG metrics, including green vs brown revenue, board independence and diversity and social screens such as tobacco. Clients of MSCI ESG Fund Ratings have full access to the fund’s exposure to controversies and over 200 ESG metrics.
  • The MSCI Index Profile search tool2 provides index level ESG metrics3 for all of its EU-regulated equity and blended indexes, and information on whether these indexes include ESG criteria. The MSCI Index Profile tool has been launched to comply with a new EU regulatory requirement for benchmark administrators. As part of its efforts to help standardize ESG disclosures, MSCI has disclosed index-level ESG metrics for all of its EU BMR equity and blended indexes, with fixed income indexes to follow in the coming weeks. Metrics are available for both ESG and non-ESG indexes, enabling institutional investors to better access sustainability information for their investment decisions, and to select benchmarks that best reflect their investment beliefs and policies.

“We are proud to provide investors and industry stakeholders with publicly available ESG metrics for tens of thousands of funds, companies and indexes, helping to drive awareness, educate the market and raise ESG disclosure standards,” said Remy Briand, Head of ESG at MSCI.
 


1 The MSCI ESG Fund Ratings search tool provides results for informational, non-commercial purposes only. Any other use would require a licence from MSCI
2 The MSCI Index Profile search tool is for information purposes only and is not designed to form part of the investment decision-making process. Any other use would require a licence from MSCI
3 As the final delegated acts have not be published or implemented, the ESG metrics are based on the requirements in the EU Commission Technical Expert Group (TEG) Final Report published in September 2019.
 


“We are firm believers that enhanced transparency and comparability is fundamental to ensuring broader adoption of ESG indexes, and in driving capital towards more sustainable investments.”

Visit the search tools here:

• MSCI ESG Fund Ratings search tool: www.msci.com/esg-fund-ratings
• MSCI Index Profile search tool: www.msci.com/index-profile

-Ends-

About MSCI ESG Research Products and Services
MSCI ESG Research products and services are provided by MSCI ESG Research LLC, and are designed to provide in-depth research, ratings and analysis of environmental, social and governance-related business practices to companies worldwide. ESG ratings, data and analysis from MSCI ESG Research LLC. are also used in the construction of the MSCI ESG Indexes. MSCI ESG Research LLC is a Registered Investment Adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and a subsidiary of MSCI Inc.
 

About MSCI
MSCI is a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community. With over 45 years of expertise in research, data and technology, we power better investment decisions by enabling clients to understand and analyze key drivers of risk and return and confidently build more effective portfolios. We create industry-leading research-enhanced solutions that clients use to gain insight into and improve transparency across the investment process. To learn more, please visit www.msci.com.

Media Inquiries
PR@msci.com
Sam Wang +1 212 804 5244
Melanie Blanco +1 212 981 1049
Rachel Lai +852 2844 9315

MSCI Global Client Service
EMEA Client Service + 44 20 7618.2222
Americas Client Service +1 888 588 4567 (toll free)
Asia Pacific Client Service + 852 2844 9333


This document and all of the information contained in it, including without limitation all text, data, graphs, charts (collectively, the “Information”) is the property of MSCI Inc. or its subsidiaries (collectively, “MSCI”), or MSCI’s licensors, direct or indirect suppliers or any third party involved in making or compiling any Information (collectively, with MSCI, the “Information Providers”) and is provided for informational purposes only. The Information may not be modified, reverse-engineered, reproduced or redisseminated in whole or in part without prior written permission from MSCI. The Information may not be used to create derivative works or to verify or correct other data or information. For example (but without limitation), the Information may not be used to create indexes, databases, risk models, analytics, software, or in connection with the issuing, offering, sponsoring, managing or marketing of any securities, portfolios, financial products or other investment vehicles utilizing or based on, linked to, tracking or otherwise derived from the Information or any other MSCI data, information, products or services. The user of the Information assumes the entire risk of any use it may make or permit to be made of the Information. NONE OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDERS MAKES ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION (OR THE RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE USE THEREOF), AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, EACH INFORMATION PROVIDER EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ORIGINALITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, NON-INFRINGEMENT, COMPLETENESS, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE) WITH RESPECT TO ANY OF THE INFORMATION. Without limiting any of the foregoing and to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall any Information Provider have any liability regarding any of the Information for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, consequential (including lost profits) or any other damages even if notified of the possibility of such damages. The foregoing shall not exclude or limit any liability that may not by applicable law be excluded or limited, including without limitation (as applicable), any liability for death or personal injury to the extent that such injury results from the negligence or willful default of itself, its servants, agents or sub-contractors. Information containing any historical information, data or analysis should not be taken as an indication or guarantee of any future performance, analysis, forecast or prediction. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The Information should not be relied on and is not a substitute for the skill, judgment and experience of the user, its management, employees, advisors and/or clients when making investment and other business decisions. All Information is impersonal and not tailored to the needs of any person, entity or group of persons. None of the Information constitutes an offer to sell (or a solicitation of an offer to buy), any security, financial product or other investment vehicle or any trading strategy. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Exposure to an asset class or trading strategy or other category represented by an index is only available through third party investable instruments (if any) based on that index. MSCI does not issue, sponsor, endorse, market, offer, review or otherwise express any opinion regarding any fund, ETF, derivative or other security, investment, financial product or trading strategy that is based on, linked to or seeks to provide an investment return related to the performance of any MSCI index (collectively, “Index Linked Investments”). MSCI makes no assurance that any Index Linked Investments will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns. MSCI Inc. is not an investment adviser or fiduciary and MSCI makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing in any Index Linked Investments. Index returns do not represent the results of actual trading of investible assets/securities. MSCI maintains and calculates indexes, but does not manage actual assets. Index returns do not reflect payment of any sales charges or fees an investor may pay to purchase the securities underlying the index or Index Linked Investments. The imposition of these fees and charges would cause the performance of an Index Linked Investment to be different than the MSCI index performance. The Information may contain back tested data. Back-tested performance is not actual performance, but is hypothetical. There are frequently material differences between back tested performance results and actual results subsequently achieved by any investment strategy. Constituents of MSCI equity indexes are listed companies, which are included in or excluded from the indexes according to the application of the relevant index methodologies. Accordingly, constituents in MSCI equity indexes may include MSCI Inc., clients of MSCI or suppliers to MSCI. Inclusion of a security within an MSCI index is not a recommendation by MSCI to buy, sell, or hold such security, nor is it considered to be investment advice. Data and information produced by various affiliates of MSCI Inc., including MSCI ESG Research LLC and Barra LLC, may be used in calculating certain MSCI indexes. More information can be found in the relevant index methodologies on www.msci.com. MSCI receives compensation in connection with licensing its indexes to third parties. MSCI Inc.’s revenue includes fees based on assets in Index Linked Investments. Information can be found in MSCI Inc.’s company filings on the Investor Relations section of www.msci.com. MSCI ESG Research LLC is a Registered Investment Adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and a subsidiary of MSCI Inc. Except with respect to any applicable products or services from MSCI ESG Research, neither MSCI nor any of its products or services recommends, endorses, approves or otherwise expresses any opinion regarding any issuer, securities, financial products or instruments or trading strategies and MSCI’s products or services are not intended to constitute investment advice or a recommendation to make (or refrain from making) any kind of investment decision and may not be relied on as such. Issuers mentioned or included in any MSCI ESG Research materials may include MSCI Inc., clients of MSCI or suppliers to MSCI, and may also purchase research or other products or services from MSCI ESG Research. MSCI ESG Research materials, including materials utilized in any MSCI ESG Indexes or other products, have not been submitted to, nor received approval from, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or any other regulatory body. Any use of or access to products, services or information of MSCI requires a license from MSCI. MSCI, Barra, RiskMetrics, IPD, and other MSCI brands and product names are the trademarks, service marks, or registered trademarks of MSCI or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions. The Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) was developed by and is the exclusive property of MSCI and Standard & Poor’s. “Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS)” is a service mark of MSCI and Standard & Poor’s.