Attendees at the MSCI Institutional Investor Forums in the U.S. and Canada agreed that the investment megatrends they see underscore the need to centralize risk in investment decision-making, making a total portfolio approach increasingly attractive.

We’re joined by MSCI’s Chief Research Officer, Ashley Lester and Chief Client Officer, Axel Kilian, who recently attended the 19th annual Institutional Investor Forum, hosted by MSCI. We discuss the benefits and considerations of a total portfolio approach, as well as the myriad of challenges facing asset owners and investors around the world.

From the effects of China’s stimulus to the power of sustainability on portfolio performance and companies cost of capital, our panel dissects the latest market drivers and where investors may be focused for the rest of 2024.

Excess returns in private markets are often attributed to the extra compensation for carrying liquidity risk, but is this perception of risk warranted? We analyzed various buyout-allocation targets to find evidence for the concern.  

Chief Research Officer, Ashley Lester and team assess the evolution of the five key themes affecting investors in 2024. What does the landscape look like for the second half of the year? 

Our panel of experts, led by chief research officer, Ashley Lester, takes stock of global markets as we enter the back half of 2024. Ashley and team examine the short- and long-term issues affecting investors, including the ever changing geopolitical landscape, the continued impact of AI and the role of private markets in the carbon transition.

Climate is no longer just a risk for the future but also an opportunity to invest now, stressed speakers at our Capital for Climate Action EMEA Conference, which brought together investors and financial institutions to discuss the importance of investment and finance in speeding the low-carbon transition.

Our panel discusses what’s happening in public equity markets, the importance of governance and of sustainable investing more broadly, as well as the growing world of private assets, including private credit and the ways in which these assets might come to resemble their public counterparts more than they do today.

Ashley Lester and team help investors find the connections between — and evaluate the risks and potential opportunities of — AI, geopolitics and the effects of climate change, as well as the growing importance of private capital and continued influence of monetary policy.

As 2024 begins, researchers across MSCI have identified five market-moving trends investors will be focused on this year. Penned by MSCI’s chief research officer, Ashley Lester explores each theme in detail.

Attendees at the recent MSCI Canadian Institutional Investor Forum discussed and debated the challenges and opportunities created by massive structural, macroeconomic, societal and technological shifts in the investment landscape.

Key insights from the recent MSCI Institutional Investor Forum highlight how forces of disruption are driving asset owners to evolve their assessment of risks and how developments in AI can further blend quantitative and qualitative investment analysis.