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Hello, Frank Beck. Your question has been answered at the Teahouse Q&A board. Feel free to reply there!
Please note that all old questions are archived after 2-3 days of inactivity. Message added by Amadscientist (talk) 07:07, 2 March 2013 (UTC). (You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{teahouse talkback}} template.[reply]

February 2015

[edit]

Welcome to Wikipedia. Although everyone is welcome to contribute constructively to the encyclopedia, your addition of one or more external links to the page Anna Depenbusch has been reverted.
Your edit here to Anna Depenbusch was reverted by an automated bot that attempts to remove links which are discouraged per our external links guideline. The external link(s) you added or changed (http://frankgenebeck.blogspot.mx/2015/02/the-heart-of-melancholy-optimist.html) is/are on my list of links to remove and probably shouldn't be included in Wikipedia. If the external link you inserted or changed was to a blog, forum, free web hosting service, fansite, or similar site (see 'Links to avoid', #11), then please check the information on the external site thoroughly. Note that such sites should probably not be linked to if they contain information that is in violation of the creator's copyright (see Linking to copyrighted works), or they are not written by a recognised, reliable source. Linking to sites that you are involved with is also strongly discouraged (see conflict of interest).
If you were trying to insert an external link that does comply with our policies and guidelines, then please accept my creator's apologies and feel free to undo the bot's revert. However, if the link does not comply with our policies and guidelines, but your edit included other, constructive, changes to the article, feel free to make those changes again without re-adding the link. Please read Wikipedia's external links guideline for more information, and consult my list of frequently-reverted sites. For more information about me, see my FAQ page. Thanks! --XLinkBot (talk) 05:18, 13 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Welcome!

[edit]

Hello and welcome to Wikipedia. Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. The following links will help you begin editing on Wikipedia:

Please bear these points in mind while editing Wikipedia

The Wikipedia tutorial is a good place to start learning about Wikipedia. If you have any questions, see the help pages, add a question to the village pump or ask me on my talk page. By the way, you can sign your name on Talk and discussion pages using four tildes, like this: ~~~~ (the software will replace them with your signature and the date). Again, welcome! 220 of Borg 12:10, 30 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Help me!

[edit]

I received a message from a Wikipedia editor who said I could contact them on their talk page. When I went to the talk page, I did not see anywhere to enter a message.

Can you please help?

Please help me with...

Frank Beck (talk) 14:44, 30 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Hi. When you go to their user talk page, click on either "Add topic" or "New section" (depending on which skin you are using) at the top of the page. There you can fill in a title for your message (like the subject line of an email) and then your message in the boxes provided. Remember to sign your post with four tildes (~~~~) at the end. Cheers, Nick⁠—⁠Contact/Contribs 14:58, 30 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]
[edit]

Editors who are compensated for their contributions should make the disclosure by placing the {{connected contributor (paid)}} template at the top of the talk page of affected articles and filling in the parameters. They should also supply this information as part of a list on their user page of all their paid contributions. --Orange Mike | Talk 15:04, 30 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

{{connected contributor (paid)}}, linked for convenience. (leave me a new message) 220 of Borg 15:26, 30 September 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Help me!

[edit]

I am a paid consultant working for MSCI, Inc. They have given me corrections to their Wikipedia page and asked me to input it. The edit page asks me to cite a source for the new material. Should I use my name, the company's name or something else? Please help me with...

Frank Beck (talk) 19:38, 2 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, Mr. Beck – Welcome, and thank you for your candor. The resources you need for this situation are:
Those articles will help you to find and cite a source for the new material, as well as how the material should be added to the article by someone who does not have a conflict of interest. Hope this helps! Paine Ellsworth (talk-contribs)  20:53, 2 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Changes to Wikipedia pages for MSCI, Inc.

[edit]

I am a paid consultant working for MSCI, Inc. MSCI has asked me to submitted the following edits for their Wikipedia pages.

These edits are being submitted because the current Wikipedia pages contain out-of-date information and statistics and do not reflect the present operations of the company. The information is sourced from the internal records of the company and from the annual report of MSCI, Inc., a publicly traded corporation. The edits have been read and approved by Christina Cudworth, MSCI's Executive Director and Head of Digital Marketing.

If you have any questions about these edits, please let me know. If and when the edits are made, I would greatly appreciate if you could send me a message.

Thanks. Frank Beck (talk) 23:34, 4 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

MSCI - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia August 2015

Type: Public Traded as: NYSE: MSCI Founded: 1969 Incorporated: 1998 Headquarters: Seven World Trade Center, New York NY Key people: Henry A. Fernandez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Qutub, Chief Financial Officer Baer Pettit, Global Head of Products Chris Corrado, Chief Information Officer Laurent Seyer, Global Head of Client Coverage Number of locations: 35, in 22 countries 2014 Revenue: $996.6 million1 2014 Operating income: $337.2 million1 2014 Net income: $284.1 million 1 Total Assets: $2,894 million1 Number of employees: 2,9261 Website: www.msci.com

[head] Overview MSCI Inc. is a publicly owned corporation traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MSCI; its market capitalization was $7.04 billion, as of August 20, 2015. Headquartered in New York, the company operates three main areas of business: global market indexes, risk management products and portfolio management products. Investors around the world use MSCI global market indexes to manage investment portfolios and measure their returns. The MSCI indexes provide an end-of-day valuation of individual securities and global investment markets. Of the latter, the best known are the MSCI World and MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australia, Far East) indexes. Other MSCI indexes track the performance of emerging market stocks; global real estate; factor and multi-factor investing, which focuses on groups of stocks with particular characteristics, such as growth or value; and ESG investing, which directs assets according to environmental, social and corporate governance factors. MSCI risk management analytics products, such as RiskManager and BarraOne, are designed to monitor the risk levels of investment portfolios and to help asset managers avoid unintended risks. These products include software used for stress testing sample portfolios under specific market or macroeconomic shocks, such as sudden changes in interest rates or the prices of basic commodities. MSCI portfolio management analytics products, such as the Barra Portfolio Manager and more than 70 risk models, enable asset managers to analyze the trade-off between risk and return and make informed allocations choices. At the end of 2014, MSCI indexes were used as benchmarks for more than $9 trillion in assets, according to the company’s data. MSCI served more than 6,700 clients across 87 countries1 ; they included asset managers of mutual and exchange-traded funds, hedge funds, pension funds, banks, broker-dealers and sovereign wealth funds. At that time, 98 of the top 100 global asset managers were MSCI clients1, according to the most recent ranking by Pensions and Investments. MSCI operations are multinational; the company employs a staff of more than 2,900 investment professionals located in 22 countries around the world.

[head] History MSCI, Inc. began as an operator of market indexes and that remains the primary focus of its business. Since 2004, the company has offered risk analytics products that complement its indexes and give asset managers tools for monitoring, managing and reporting on their portfolios.

1968: The Capital International Indices published the first set of market indexes for non-U.S. markets. 1986: Morgan Stanley licensed the rights to the Capital International indexes and renamed them the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) indexes. 1998: MSCI was incorporated; Capital International and Morgan Stanley were its joint owners. 2004: MSCI acquired Barra, which had developed and marketed portfolio analytics tools since 1975, extending the company’s product range beyond its index products for the first time. 2007: MSCI completed an initial public offering with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange on November 15. Morgan Stanley continued to maintain a controlling interest of about 97% as of November 30. 2009: Morgan Stanley sold its stake, and MSCI became an independent public corporation. 2010: MSCI acquired RiskMetrics Group , a provider of risk management and governance products. RMG owned the Center for Financial Research and Analytics, which was sold in March 2013, and Institutional Shareholder Services, which was sold in April 2014. RMG also owned Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, Inc., and KLD Research and Analytics, which are now known as MSCI ESG Research. MSCI acquired Measurisk3, a provider of risk management tools for hedge fund investors. Using Measurisk as a basis, MSCI developed a platform that allows hedge fund managers to analyze and report the risk levels of their portfolios. 2012: MSCI acquired IPD4, which develops metrics for real estate performance. This allowed MSCI to include privately owned real estate properties in its risk models and to launch a group of real estate indexes. 2013: MSCI acquired InvestorForce5, which has products that institutional investors in the United States use to compile performance data from custodial banks, money managers and other industry sources. 2014: MSCI acquired GMI Ratings6, which rates companies’ corporate governance practices for institutional investors, banks, insurers, auditors, government regulators and others who want to integrate ESG factors into their risk assessment and decision-making.

[head] Products and Services Global Indexes MSCI is best known for its global equity indexes, which are designed to monitor the stocks offered in many of the public equity markets throughout the world and to measure their returns. They are the most widely used benchmarks for international equity funds.

As of December 31, 2014, the MSCI Global Equity indexes tracked equity markets in more than 80 countries in its developed, emerging and frontier market categories; many of these were folded into regional or composite indexes, such as the MSCI EAFE Index. Other indexes track individual industry sectors; factor investing, such as value and growth stocks; and investing by market capitalization size.

MSCI indexes also serve as the benchmark for more than 650 ETFs around the world, more than those linked to any other index provider. Together, these funds had more than $447 billion in assets as of April 30, 2015.

Initially, most market indexes reflected a particular existing market; for example, the MSCI China Index, measures the performance of stocks traded in the Chinese market. In recent years, MSCI has launched indexes designed to measure stocks grouped in a variety of new ways. For example, the MSCI Economic Exposure Index captures the performance of stocks with exposure to specific nations or regions, even if the stocks are traded elsewhere. Other indexes track the performance of stocks exposed to a specific investment factor across global markets.

[head] Factor Investing Products Institutional investors use MSCI indexes and analytical models to evaluate investment factors and integrate factor strategies into their portfolios. A factor is any characteristic that is important in explaining the risk and return of a group of securities. MSCI is one of the leaders in factor-based ETFs. Of the 95 MSCI-linked ETFs launched in 2014, 42 tracked MSCI Factor indexes7, which are based on the six factors MSCI has identified as clear and persistent factors over time: o Value – MSCI Value Weighted indexes weight stocks according to four fundamental variables (sales, earnings, cash flow, book value) o Low size – MSCI Equal Weighted indexes weight all stocks in a parent index equally o Low volatility – MSCI Minimum Volatility Indexes identify stocks with the lowest forecast volatility, using minimum variance optimization o High Yield – MSCI High Dividend Yield indexes identify high-dividend stocks, with screens for quality and potential yield traps o Quality – MSCI Quality indexes identify high-quality stocks, scored according debt-to-equity, return-on-equity and earnings variability o Momentum – MSCI Momentum indexes weight stocks based on 6- and 12-month momentum and scaled by each stock’s volatility within those periods Risk Management Products Using bands such as Risk Metrics and Barra, MSCI offers risk assessment tools for managing and monitoring investments in multiple asset classes across an entire asset management organization. These products are based on integrated risk models using multiple fundamental factors, value-at-risk (“VaR”) methodologies and asset valuation models. They enable investors to identify, manage, monitor and report potential market risks and to analyze portfolio risk and return across a wide range of asset classes.

[head] Portfolio Management Products In the past, directors of actively managed stock portfolios used a standard market index to determine the universe of funds from which to select stocks. Today’s asset managers often want to focus their investments in the individual market areas where they believe they can find the best opportunities. MSCI has developed risk models designed to monitor these market areas, which include individual industry sectors, emerging markets and small-cap stocks. The company launched 25 of these new risk models in 2014. Research MSCI’s market researchers and analysts produce white papers on a wide range of subjects of interest to investors. Their most important function is to identify new market developments that are not yet widely discussed or understood. MSCI Research also conducts specialized research at a client’s request.

[head] References 1. MSCI, Inc. 2014 Annual report via MSCI.com 2. “MSCI Completes Acquisition of RiskMetrics”, June 1, 2010 on msci.com 3. “MSCI to Acquire Measurisk”, July 15, 2010 on msci.com 4. “MSCI Completes Acquisition of IPD Group”, November 30, 2015, Reuters 5. “MSCI Completes Acquisition of InvestorForce”, January 29, 2013 on msci.com 6. “MSCI Completes Acquisition of GMI Ratings”, August 12, 2014 on msi.com 7. “MSCI Has Defined ‘Smart Beta’ Better” by Olivier Ludwig on ETF.com March 6, 2015

Further to my message of a few minutes ago, here are the edits as an htm.file. Having this might make them easier to make. Frank Beck (talk) 00:03, 5 October 2015 (UTC) Edits to Wikipedia pages for MSCI, Inc.[reply]

Changes to Wikipedia page for MSCI, Inc.

[edit]

I am a paid consultant working for MSCI, Inc. to update their Wikipedia entry.

Yesterday I submitted edits for the Wikipedia page for MSCI, Inc. to correct outdated information. I realize it will take time to evaluate my edits, but I would like to request a confirmation that they have been received that I can send to my clients.

Thanks.

Frank Beck (talk) 11:47, 5 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Request for significant changes to entry for MSCI, Inc.

[edit]

I am a paid consultant working for MSCI, Inc. On behalf of MSCI, Inc., I would like to request that the existing page about the company be replaced by the following content, because the present content is outdated and does not accurately represent the company's current business operations.

MSCI

Type: Public

Traded as: NYSE: MSCI

Founded: 1969

Incorporated: 1998

Headquarters: Seven World Trade Center, New York NY

Key people:

Henry A. Fernandez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Robert Qutub, Chief Financial Officer

Baer Pettit, Global Head of Products

Chris Corrado, Chief Information Officer

Laurent Seyer, Global Head of Client Coverage

Number of locations: 35, in 22 countries

2014 Revenue: $996.6 million1

2014 Operating income: $337.2 million1

2014 Net income: $284.1 million 1

Total Assets: $2,894 million1

Number of employees: 2,9261

Website: www.msci.com

Overview MSCI Inc. is a publicly owned corporation traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MSCI; its market capitalization was $7.04 billion, as of August 20, 2015. Headquartered in New York, the company operates three main areas of business: global market indexes, risk management products and portfolio management products.

Investors around the world use MSCI global market indexes to manage investment portfolios and measure their returns. The MSCI indexes provide an end-of-day valuation of individual securities and global investment markets. Of the latter, the best known are the MSCI World and MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australia, Far East) indexes. Other MSCI indexes track the performance of emerging market stocks; global real estate; factor and multi-factor investing, which focuses on groups of stocks with particular characteristics, such as growth or value; and ESG investing, which directs assets according to environmental, social and corporate governance factors.

MSCI risk management analytics products, such as RiskManager and BarraOne, are designed to monitor the risk levels of investment portfolios and to help asset managers avoid unintended risks. These products include software used for stress testing sample portfolios under specific market or macroeconomic shocks, such as sudden changes in interest rates or the prices of basic commodities.

MSCI portfolio management analytics products, such as the Barra Portfolio Manager and more than 70 risk models, enable asset managers to analyze the trade-off between risk and return and make informed allocations choices.

At the end of 2014, MSCI indexes were used as benchmarks for more than $9 trillion in assets, according to the company’s data. MSCI served more than 6,700 clients across 87 countries1 ; they included asset managers of mutual and exchange-traded funds, hedge funds, pension funds, banks, broker-dealers and sovereign wealth funds. At that time, 98 of the top 100 global asset managers were MSCI clients1, according to the most recent ranking by Pensions and Investments.

MSCI operations are multinational; the company employs a staff of more than 2,900 investment professionals located in 22 countries around the world.

History

MSCI, Inc. began as an operator of market indexes and that remains the primary focus of its business. Since 2004, the company has offered risk analytics products that complement its indexes and give asset managers tools for monitoring, managing and reporting on their portfolios.

1968: The Capital International Indices published the first set of market indexes for non-U.S. markets.

1986: Morgan Stanley licensed the rights to the Capital International indexes and renamed them the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) indexes.

1998: MSCI was incorporated; Capital International and Morgan Stanley were its joint owners.

2004: MSCI acquired Barra, which had developed and marketed portfolio analytics tools since 1975, extending the company’s product range beyond its index products for the first time.

2007: MSCI completed an initial public offering with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange on November 15. Morgan Stanley continued to maintain a controlling interest of about 97% as of November 30.

2009: Morgan Stanley sold its stake, and MSCI became an independent public corporation.

2010: MSCI acquired RiskMetrics Group[1], a provider of risk management and governance products. RMG owned the Center for Financial Research and Analytics, which was sold in March 2013, and Institutional Shareholder Services, which was sold in April 2014. RMG also owned Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, Inc., and KLD Research and Analytics, which are now known as MSCI ESG Research.

MSCI acquired Measurisk3, a provider of risk management tools for hedge fund investors. Using Measurisk as a basis, MSCI developed a platform that allows hedge fund managers to analyze and report the risk levels of their portfolios.

2012: MSCI acquired IPD4, which develops metrics for real estate performance. This allowed MSCI to include privately owned real estate properties in its risk models and to launch a group of real estate indexes.

2013: MSCI acquired InvestorForce5, which has products that institutional investors in the United States use to compile performance data from custodial banks, money managers and other industry sources.

2014: MSCI acquired GMI Ratings6, which rates companies’ corporate governance practices for institutional investors, banks, insurers, auditors, government regulators and others who want to integrate ESG factors into their risk assessment and decision-making.

Products and Services

Global Indexes MSCI is best known for its global equity indexes, which are designed to monitor the stocks offered in many of the public equity markets throughout the world and to measure their returns. They are the most widely used benchmarks for international equity funds.

As of December 31, 2014, the MSCI Global Equity indexes tracked equity markets in more than 80 countries in its developed, emerging and frontier market categories; many of these were folded into regional or composite indexes, such as the MSCI EAFE Index. Other indexes track individual industry sectors; factor investing, such as value and growth stocks; and investing by market capitalization size.

MSCI indexes also serve as the benchmark for more than 650 ETFs around the world, more than those linked to any other index provider. Together, these funds had more than $447 billion in assets as of April 30, 2015.

Initially, most market indexes reflected a particular existing market; for example, the MSCI China Index, measures the performance of stocks traded in the Chinese market. In recent years, MSCI has launched indexes designed to measure stocks grouped in a variety of new ways. For example, the MSCI Economic Exposure Index captures the performance of stocks with exposure to specific nations or regions, even if the stocks are traded elsewhere. Other indexes track the performance of stocks exposed to a specific investment factor across global markets.

Factor Investing Products Institutional investors use MSCI indexes and analytical models to evaluate investment factors and integrate factor strategies into their portfolios. A factor is any characteristic that is important in explaining the risk and return of a group of securities.

MSCI is one of the leaders in factor-based ETFs. Of the 95 MSCI-linked ETFs launched in 2014, 42 tracked MSCI Factor indexes7, which are based on the six factors MSCI has identified as clear and persistent factors over time:

o Value – MSCI Value Weighted indexes weight stocks according to four fundamental variables (sales, earnings, cash flow, book value)

o Low size – MSCI Equal Weighted indexes weight all stocks in a parent index equally

o Low volatility – MSCI Minimum Volatility Indexes identify stocks with the lowest forecast volatility, using minimum variance optimization

o High Yield – MSCI High Dividend Yield indexes identify high-dividend stocks, with screens for quality and potential yield traps

o Quality – MSCI Quality indexes identify high-quality stocks, scored according debt-to-equity, return-on-equity and earnings variability

o Momentum – MSCI Momentum indexes weight stocks based on 6- and 12-month momentum and scaled by each stock’s volatility within those periods

Risk Management Products Using bands such as Risk Metrics and Barra, MSCI offers risk assessment tools for managing and monitoring investments in multiple asset classes across an entire asset management organization.

These products are based on integrated risk models using multiple fundamental factors, value-at-risk (“VaR”) methodologies and asset valuation models. They enable investors to identify, manage, monitor and report potential market risks and to analyze portfolio risk and return across a wide range of asset classes.

Portfolio Management Products In the past, directors of actively managed stock portfolios used a standard market index to determine the universe of funds from which to select stocks. Today’s asset managers often want to focus their investments in the individual market areas where they believe they can find the best opportunities.

MSCI has developed risk models designed to monitor these market areas, which include individual industry sectors, emerging markets and small-cap stocks. The company launched 25 of these new risk models in 2014.

Research

MSCI’s market researchers and analysts produce white papers on a wide range of subjects of interest to investors. Their most important function is to identify new market developments that are not yet widely discussed or understood. MSCI Research also conducts specialized research at a client’s request.

References

1. MSCI, Inc. 2014 Annual report via MSCI.com

2. “MSCI Completes Acquisition of RiskMetrics”, June 1, 2010 on msci.com

3. “MSCI to Acquire Measurisk”, July 15, 2010 on msci.com

4. “MSCI Completes Acquisition of IPD Group”, November 30, 2015, Reuters

5. “MSCI Completes Acquisition of InvestorForce”, January 29, 2013 on msci.com

6. “MSCI Completes Acquisition of GMI Ratings”, August 12, 2014 on msi.com

7. “MSCI Has Defined ‘Smart Beta’ Better” by Olivier Ludwig on ETF.com March 6, 2015

[end]

Significant changes to entry for MSCI, Inc.

[edit]

Please ignore my message of a few minutes ago. It was incomplete. It was transmitted because I hit SAVE, not realizing that the prompt actually meant SEND.

I will resend the message in complete form in a few minutes.

Frank Beck (talk) 01:04, 6 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Significant changes to entry for MSCI, Inc. - complete message

[edit]

I am resending my message of about half an hour ago, which was sent in error, because I used the SAVE prompt, not realizing it meant SEND. I apologize for the confusion.

I am a paid consultant working for MSCI, Inc. On their behalf, I would like to request that the current Wikipedia entry for MSCI be replaced by the content below, because the current entry contains outdated data and information and does not reflect the company's current business operations.

Please note that the cues for the end notes are in brackets. I did not know how else to indicate them.

The information below is sourced from the company's most recent annual report and from its internal records and has been approved by Christina Cudworth, the company's Head of Digital Services.

This link will provide the new content as a Word document for your reference:

New content for Wikipedia entry for MSCI, Inc.

Thanks.

Frank Beck (talk) 01:19, 6 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

MSCI

Type: Public

Traded as: NYSE: MSCI

Founded: 1969

Incorporated:1998

Headquarters: Seven World Trade Center, New York NY

Key people:

Henry A. Fernandez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Robert Qutub, Chief Financial Officer

Baer Pettit, Global Head of Products

Chris Corrado, Chief Information Officer

Laurent Seyer, Global Head of Client Coverage

Number of locations: 35, in 22 countries

2014 Revenue: $996.6 million [1]

2014 Operating income: $337.2 million [1]

2014 Net income: $284.1 million [1]

Total Assets: $2,894 million [1]

Number of employees: 2,926 [1]

Website: www.msci.com

Overview MSCI Inc. is a publicly owned corporation traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MSCI; its market capitalization was $7.04 billion, as of August 20, 2015. Headquartered in New York, the company operates three main areas of business: global market indexes, risk management products and portfolio management products.

Investors around the world use MSCI global market indexes to manage investment portfolios and measure their returns. The MSCI indexes provide an end-of-day valuation of individual securities and global investment markets. Of the latter, the best known are the MSCI World and MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australia, Far East) indexes. Other MSCI indexes track the performance of emerging market stocks; global real estate; factor and multi-factor investing, which focuses on groups of stocks with particular characteristics, such as growth or value; and ESG investing, which directs assets according to environmental, social and corporate governance factors.

MSCI risk management analytics products, such as RiskManager and BarraOne, are designed to monitor the risk levels of investment portfolios and to help asset managers avoid unintended risks. These products include software used for stress testing sample portfolios under specific market or macroeconomic shocks, such as sudden changes in interest rates or the prices of basic commodities.

MSCI portfolio management analytics products, such as the Barra Portfolio Manager and more than 70 risk models, enable asset managers to analyze the trade-off between risk and return and make informed allocations choices.

At the end of 2014, MSCI indexes were used as benchmarks for more than $9 trillion in assets, according to the company’s data. MSCI served more than 6,700 clients across 87 countries [1] ; they included asset managers of mutual and exchange-traded funds, hedge funds, pension funds, banks, broker-dealers and sovereign wealth funds. At that time, 98 of the top 100 global asset managers were MSCI clients [1], according to the most recent ranking by Pensions and Investments.

MSCI operations are multinational; the company employs a staff of more than 2,900 investment professionals located in 22 countries around the world.

History MSCI, Inc. began as an operator of market indexes and that remains the primary focus of its business. Since 2004, the company has offered risk analytics products that complement its indexes and give asset managers tools for monitoring, managing and reporting on their portfolios.

1968: The Capital International Indices published the first set of market indexes for non-U.S. markets.

1986: Morgan Stanley licensed the rights to the Capital International indexes and renamed them the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) indexes.

1998: MSCI was incorporated; Capital International and Morgan Stanley were its joint owners.

2004: MSCI acquired Barra, which had developed and marketed portfolio analytics tools since 1975, extending the company’s product range beyond its index products for the first time.

2007: MSCI completed an initial public offering with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange on November 15. Morgan Stanley continued to maintain a controlling interest of about 97% as of November 30.

2009: Morgan Stanley sold its stake, and MSCI became an independent public corporation.

2010: MSCI acquired RiskMetrics Group [1], a provider of risk management and governance products. RMG owned the Center for Financial Research and Analytics, which was sold in March 2013, and Institutional Shareholder Services, which was sold in April 2014. RMG also owned Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, Inc., and KLD Research and Analytics, which are now known as MSCI ESG Research.

MSCI acquired Measurisk [3], a provider of risk management tools for hedge fund investors. Using Measurisk as a basis, MSCI developed a platform that allows hedge fund managers to analyze and report the risk levels of their portfolios.

2012: MSCI acquired IPD [4], which develops metrics for real estate performance. This allowed MSCI to include privately owned real estate properties in its risk models and to launch a group of real estate indexes.

2013: MSCI acquired InvestorForce [5], which has products that institutional investors in the United States use to compile performance data from custodial banks, money managers and other industry sources.

2014: MSCI acquired GMI Ratings [6], which rates companies’ corporate governance practices for institutional investors, banks, insurers, auditors, government regulators and others who want to integrate ESG factors into their risk assessment and decision-making.

Products and Services

Global Indexes MSCI is best known for its global equity indexes, which are designed to monitor the stocks offered in many of the public equity markets throughout the world and to measure their returns. They are the most widely used benchmarks for international equity funds.

As of December 31, 2014, the MSCI Global Equity indexes tracked equity markets in more than 80 countries in its developed, emerging and frontier market categories; many of these were folded into regional or composite indexes, such as the MSCI EAFE Index. Other indexes track individual industry sectors; factor investing, such as value and growth stocks; and investing by market capitalization size.

MSCI indexes also serve as the benchmark for more than 650 ETFs around the world, more than those linked to any other index provider. Together, these funds had more than $447 billion in assets as of April 30, 2015.

Initially, most market indexes reflected a particular existing market; for example, the MSCI China Index, measures the performance of stocks traded in the Chinese market. In recent years, MSCI has launched indexes designed to measure stocks grouped in a variety of new ways. For example, the MSCI Economic Exposure Index captures the performance of stocks with exposure to specific nations or regions, even if the stocks are traded elsewhere. Other indexes track the performance of stocks exposed to a specific investment factor across global markets.

Factor Investing Products

Institutional investors use MSCI indexes and analytical models to evaluate investment factors and integrate factor strategies into their portfolios. A factor is any characteristic that is important in explaining the risk and return of a group of securities.

MSCI is one of the leaders in factor-based ETFs. Of the 95 MSCI-linked ETFs launched in 2014, 42 tracked MSCI Factor indexes [7], which are based on the six factors MSCI has identified as clear and persistent factors over time:

o Value – MSCI Value Weighted indexes weight stocks according to four fundamental variables (sales, earnings, cash flow, book value)

o Low size – MSCI Equal Weighted indexes weight all stocks in a parent index equally

o Low volatility – MSCI Minimum Volatility Indexes identify stocks with the lowest forecast volatility, using minimum variance optimization

o High Yield – MSCI High Dividend Yield indexes identify high-dividend stocks, with screens for quality and potential yield traps

o Quality – MSCI Quality indexes identify high-quality stocks, scored according debt-to-equity, return-on-equity and earnings variability

o Momentum – MSCI Momentum indexes weight stocks based on 6- and 12-month momentum and scaled by each stock’s volatility within those periods

Risk Management Products

Using bands such as Risk Metrics and Barra, MSCI offers risk assessment tools for managing and monitoring investments in multiple asset classes across an entire asset management organization.

These products are based on integrated risk models using multiple fundamental factors, value-at-risk (“VaR”) methodologies and asset valuation models. They enable investors to identify, manage, monitor and report potential market risks and to analyze portfolio risk and return across a wide range of asset classes.

Portfolio Management Products In the past, directors of actively managed stock portfolios used a standard market index to determine the universe of funds from which to select stocks. Today’s asset managers often want to focus their investments in the individual market areas where they believe they can find the best opportunities.

MSCI has developed risk models designed to monitor these market areas, which include individual industry sectors, emerging markets and small-cap stocks. The company launched 25 of these new risk models in 2014.

Research MSCI’s market researchers and analysts produce white papers on a wide range of subjects of interest to investors. Their most important function is to identify new market developments that are not yet widely discussed or understood. MSCI Research also conducts specialized research at a client’s request.

References 1. MSCI, Inc. 2014 Annual report via MSCI.com

2. “MSCI Completes Acquisition of RiskMetrics”, June 1, 2010 on msci.com

3. “MSCI to Acquire Measurisk”, July 15, 2010 on msci.com

4. “MSCI Completes Acquisition of IPD Group”, November 30, 2015, Reuters

5. “MSCI Completes Acquisition of InvestorForce”, January 29, 2013 on msci.com

6. “MSCI Completes Acquisition of GMI Ratings”, August 12, 2014 on msi.com

7. “MSCI Has Defined ‘Smart Beta’ Better” by Olivier Ludwig on ETF.com March 6, 2015

[end]

Timeline for significant editorial changes to an entry

[edit]

I am a paid consultant working for MSCI, Inc. I have been asked to submit changes to their Wikipedia entry, which I did yesterday, using the request template.

My client is now asking how long it generally takes for requested changes to be made, assuming that they are approved by Wikipedia's editor. I don't need an exact estimate; I'd just like to know whether it's a matter of days or weeks.

Please advise.

Thanks.

Frank Beck (talk) 16:16, 6 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Hi again, Mr. Beck. I just noticed that you are placing your proposed edits to what appears to be the MSCI article on your user talk page. If you apply the request template to the talk page of the article, you might get better and quicker results. Hope this helps! Paine  (talk – contribs)  17:17, 6 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Help me!

[edit]

Should I use the request template when using Visual Editor? {{request edit}}

Please help me with...

Frank Beck (talk) 14:43, 29 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Request for substantial changes to Wikipedia page for MSCI, Inc.

[edit]

On November 16 I submitted a request for changes in the Wikipedia page for MSCI, which is outdated, on the MSCI talk page, using the request template.

I have not yet received any response. Is there a way for me to check to see whether anyone has been assigned to edit changes to the page?

Thanks.

Frank Beck Frank Beck (talk) 18:19, 16 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

all content is created by volunteers working on what they want to work on. no one is "assigned" to do anything. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 23:59, 17 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]
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