MSCI Inc.

Is MSCI owned by Morgan Stanley?

No. Morgan Stanley developed the business internally and spun it off through a 2007 initial public offering. Morgan Stanley distributed its remaining shares to its own shareholders in 2009. MSCI has operated as an independent public company since that time and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker MSCI.

What does MSCI actually sell?

MSCI sells index licenses, risk and portfolio analytics software, sustainability and climate data, and private market intelligence. Asset managers use its indexes as benchmarks and as the basis for ETFs. Portfolio managers use its risk models and analytics to measure exposure. Institutional investors use its ESG and climate data for regulatory reporting and investment decisions.

How much revenue does MSCI generate?

MSCI reported approximately $2.9 billion in operating revenues for fiscal 2025, which ended December 31, 2025. The Index segment contributed 57.0% of revenues, the Analytics segment contributed 22.8%, and the remaining segments accounted for the balance. Revenue grew from approximately $2.6 billion in fiscal 2024.

Why is BlackRock so important to MSCI?

BlackRock is MSCI's largest client because iShares ETFs managed by BlackRock are licensed to track MSCI indexes. Fees on assets in those ETFs flow to MSCI as asset-based fees. In fiscal 2025, BlackRock accounted for 10.8% of consolidated operating revenues, with 96.5% of that revenue tied to index-based products. This relationship is a major source of revenue but also a concentration risk.

Is MSCI the same as MSCI Inc. and Morgan Stanley Capital International?

Yes. MSCI Inc. is the current legal name. The business originated as Morgan Stanley Capital International inside Morgan Stanley. After the 2007 IPO and the 2009 distribution of remaining shares, the company adopted the MSCI Inc. name and became independent. The ticker MSCI on the New York Stock Exchange refers to MSCI Inc.

Does MSCI pay a dividend?

Yes. As of August 2026, MSCI pays a quarterly dividend of $2.05 per share, equivalent to an annual rate of $8.20. The dividend yield is approximately 1.45% based on the August 2026 share price. The company also repurchases shares, spending $2.47 billion on buybacks in fiscal 2025 and through January 2026.

How many employees does MSCI have?

MSCI had 6,268 employees as of December 31, 2025, a 2.2% increase from the prior year. Approximately 29% of employees are located in developed markets and 71% in emerging market locations. The workforce is distributed across offices in major financial centers worldwide.

MSCI traces its origins to Morgan Stanley Capital International, an index business developed inside Morgan Stanley during the late 1990s. The unit built international equity indexes that institutional investors used for benchmarking and performance measurement. In 1998, Morgan Stanley and Capital International formalized the operation as Morgan Stanley Capital International Inc.

In 2004, Morgan Stanley combined its index business with Barra, a risk analytics firm it acquired for approximately $816 million. Barra had been a public company since 1985 and supplied multi-factor risk models used by portfolio managers. The merger created Morgan Stanley Capital International Inc. as a subsidiary that combined index construction with quantitative risk analytics, the two product families that still anchor MSCI today.

Morgan Stanley spun off MSCI through an initial public offering in November 2007. The shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker MSCI. Morgan Stanley retained a majority stake at first, then distributed its remaining shares to Morgan Stanley shareholders in 2009. The separation gave MSCI an independent capital structure and the ability to pursue its own acquisition and product strategy.

After the spinoff, MSCI expanded through acquisitions and organic product development. It acquired RiskMetrics Group in 2010 for approximately $1.55 billion, adding risk management and governance services used by hedge funds, banks, and asset managers. RiskMetrics brought the CreditMetrics and MarketMetrics product lines and expanded MSCI's footprint in risk analytics beyond equity portfolios.

The company continued buying specialist data and analytics businesses through the 2010s. Acquisitions included Institutional Shareholder Services in 2010, which provided proxy voting and corporate governance research, and later Real Capital Analytics in 2020, a commercial real estate data provider. MSCI sold Institutional Shareholder Services in 2017 to focus on its core index and analytics franchise.

In 2021, MSCI acquired Burgiss, a private capital data provider, for approximately $697 million. The deal added private market intelligence to the product set and supported the later creation of a dedicated Private Capital Solutions operating segment. MSCI also acquired Real Capital Analytics in 2020 and Carbon Delta, a climate analytics firm, in 2019, building out the Real Assets and climate data offerings.

During the 2020s, demand for environmental, social, and governance data grew as regulators in Europe and elsewhere introduced disclosure requirements. MSCI renamed its ESG and Climate segment to Sustainability and Climate in the first quarter of 2025 to reflect a broader product scope. The change did not alter segment composition or historical results.

In fiscal 2025, MSCI reported total operating revenues of approximately $2.9 billion, up from $2.6 billion in fiscal 2024. The Index segment contributed 57.0% of revenues, Analytics contributed 22.8%, and the combined Sustainability and Climate and All Other Private Assets segments accounted for the remainder. The company repurchased $2.47 billion of its shares during fiscal 2025 and through January 2026.

MSCI publishes its own sustainability disclosures and sells sustainability data to clients. The company reports Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions and has set targets for reducing its operational carbon footprint. Its corporate sustainability reports cover energy use, waste, and employee diversity metrics.

The company's Sustainability and Climate segment supplies ESG ratings, carbon data, and regulatory reporting tools to institutional investors. These products help clients comply with disclosure frameworks such as the European Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. Demand for these tools grew through the 2020s as regulators introduced mandatory reporting requirements.

MSCI has faced criticism over its ESG ratings methodology. Some academics and investors argue that ESG ratings aggregate disparate factors into a single score in ways that can obscure material risks. MSCI has responded by expanding its data offerings and providing more granular, factor-level data alongside composite ratings. The company states that its ratings are designed to measure financial risk exposure to ESG factors, not to judge corporate ethical performance.

As a financial data provider, MSCI's direct environmental footprint is small relative to manufacturing companies. Its primary social and governance impact comes through the products it sells, which influence how trillions of dollars of institutional capital are allocated and benchmarked.