Perspectives

What does Chris Ailman, Chief Investment Officer for CalSTRS, the second largest public pension fund in the U.S., think about divestment vs. engagement and the investment risks vs. opportunities when it comes to climate change? Listen to a candid conversation with Chris and MSCI’s CEO, Henry Fernandez.

In the wake of the volatility seen over the last few days of the third quarter of 2021, we check back in with Hitendra Varsani about what happened, what may have been behind it and what MSCI’s multi-factor model showed as of Sept. 30, 2021.

Concerns over corporate leverage in China, and nervousness about inflation and the direction of interest rates were just a few of the reasons behind the shift toward defensive factors in the third quarter. We analyze performance from three continents, with MSCI’s Hitendra Varsani, Mark Carver and Shuo Xu.

Private assets are not immune to climate-change considerations. Accounting for climate-change risks and opportunities is becoming increasingly important in private equity and debt portfolios.

Some feel the growth of ETFs that combine factors and ESG it’s a natural partnership, an inevitable evolution, while others have questions about the explanatory power of ESG and the effects of integrating it into portfolios. We explore the topic with MSCI’s Raina Oberoi and Anthony Kruger of iShares.

Despite progress, the investment industry can still seem like a club where you can’t even peek through the window without knowing the secret handshake. That’s why role models and mentors are essential, especially for historically underrepresented groups to succeed.

As regulations increase, along with a growing awareness of the potential impact of climate risks, we get real, with practical approaches for insurance companies and other institutional investors to evaluate the effects of climate change on portfolio management in a carbon-conscious world.

Asset managers in the U.S. and Europe are clamoring for better data and standards to help meet rising demand for ESG strategies across asset classes. We dig deep into the results of a recent Index Industry Association (IIA) survey of 300 managers, with the IIA’s CEO, Rick Redding, Mark Purdy, managing director of Purdy & Associates and MSCI’s head of global solutions research, Raman Aylur Subramanian.

As the second quarter of 2021 drew to a close and the global economy continued to reawaken, the big stories were the resurgence of value, the positive correlation between value and momentum and the potential for inflation. What can history and factor ETF flows tell us about our current conditions? Join our quarterly conversation with Hitendra Varsani, along with BlackRock’s US Head of Factor ETFs, Robert Hum and Patrick M. Moraniec, Senior Investment Manager of International Equity for the State of Michigan Retirement System.

We continue our look at diversity, equality and inclusion efforts through the lens of creating a safe space for LGBTQ employees, and how achieving this goal can be difficult, especially for global companies that need to account for different history, cultural norms and laws across different office locations.