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Dinank Chitkara
Senior Associate, MSCI Research
Dinank Chitkara is a member of the MSCI research team focused on seeking quantitative insights that drive investment outcomes across a diverse range of asset classes, including equities, fixed income and listed futures and options. He previously worked as a market-risk manager on the scenario-design team at Credit Suisse and as a data scientist at Walmart Labs. Dinank holds a master’s degree in economics from the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, as well as a certificate in quantitative finance from the CQF Institute.
Research and Insights
Articles by Dinank Chitkara
Sector-Balanced Futures – One Way to Manage Chinese Equity Exposure
2 mins read Quick Take | Oct 24, 2024 | Dinank Chitkara, Cheng LyuRising volatility since late September’s stimulus announcement by the Chinese government has motivated some to reassess the current opportunities and risks in Chinese equities. We analyze one tool at investors’ disposal.
More to Revival of Listed US Real Estate Than Rate Cuts
2 mins read Quick Take | Oct 18, 2024 | Dinank Chitkara, Abhishek GuptaListed U.S. real estate emerged as the second-best performing sector in Q3 2024. The recent decline in rates has likely boosted its appeal, but a more fundamental and compositional shift may have caught investors’ renewed attention.
Markets in Focus: Rate Cuts Ripple Through Export-Oriented Markets
5 mins read Blog | Oct 2, 2024 | Dinank Chitkara, Anil Rao, Thomas Verbraken, Afsaneh MastouriInterest-rate uncertainty and restructured trade networks are drawing attention to export-oriented markets. MSCI’s equity models, using foreign-sensitivity exposures, have highlighted wide differences in exporter firms’ performance across regions.
Regional Index Options Could Cushion Equity Drawdowns
2 mins read Quick Take | Sep 11, 2024 | Dinank ChitkaraImplied volatility, based on at-the-money options, rose in early September in several regional markets. Put-option premiums, below their five-year median, suggest protection against rising volatility could potentially still be attained at lower cost.
Regional Variations in Volatility to Japan’s Black Monday
2 mins read Quick Take | Aug 27, 2024 | Dinank ChitkaraAfter the Bank of Japan’s rate hike on July 31, equity market volatility rose sharply. Emerging and EAFE markets were less volatile than the U.S., but their volatility spreads veered in opposite directions, with the EM/U.S. spread hitting a record low.
So Many Sectors, So Little Time
Podcast | Aug 8, 2024 | Abhishek Gupta, Dinank ChitkaraSector investing offers a strategic approach for investors looking to gain exposure to distinctive segments of the economy — especially in the U.S. We sat down with experts from within MSCI, as well as with Vanguard’s, Andrey Kotlyarenko, to explore the ins and outs.
Systematic Options Strategies Linked to Regional Indexes
Research Report | Jul 19, 2024 | Dinank Chitkara, Hitendra D VarsaniOur analysis of data spanning the last 18 years indicates that systematic options strategies linked to the MSCI EAFE and MSCI Emerging Markets Indexes have consistently exhibited lower risk and lower drawdowns compared to their parent indexes.
Markets in Focus: Currency Risk Higher for Global Equity Investors
5 mins read Blog | Jul 9, 2024 | Dinank Chitkara, Anil Rao, Afsaneh MastouriCurrency relationships have been in flux since early 2022. We analyze how these changes have impacted global equities and outline the economic and political events that could influence fixed-income performance over the balance of 2024.
Incorporating Sector Investing in Portfolio Management
Research Report | Jun 20, 2024 | Abhishek Gupta, Dinank ChitkaraOver the last 20 years, most U.S. sectors had low performance correlations, suggesting that sector rotation strategies had the potential to improve portfolio return or that combining less-correlated sectors had the potential to reduce portfolio risk over that period.
Markets in Focus: Regional Markets, Credit and Cash on the Move
6 mins read Blog | Apr 2, 2024 | Anil Rao, Dinank Chitkara, Andy SparksInvestors contemplating putting their cash to work over the balance of 2024 may wish to consider the impacts of the changing equity-credit relationship and growing regional disparities as they revise their allocations.
Indian Firms Advance in Financially Pertinent Sustainability Risks
4 mins read Blog | Mar 26, 2024 | Dinank Chitkara, Manish ShakdwipeeIndian firms have made notable strides in managing their financially relevant sustainability risks over the last five years. Understanding their progress could offer valuable insights to investors in India’s equity market.
Are US Treasurys Sensing a Risk Equities Aren’t?
2 mins read Quick Take | Mar 21, 2024 | Dinank ChitkaraThe wide gap in U.S. T-bill and equity volatility levels appears to reflect varying perceptions of risk. The historically low hedging premium implies a lower cost to insure against higher equity volatility, should that be the scenario that unfolds.
Sector Insights from India’s Equity Market
6 mins read Blog | Jan 23, 2024 | Dinank Chitkara, Rohit GuptaA sector-based perspective of the Indian equity market, one of the emerging beneficiaries of global power shifts, indicates the valuation premiums of most sectors are high in historical terms and relative to sectors in other emerging markets.
ESG and Climate Reporting with Derivatives
Research Report | Jan 5, 2024 | Hitendra D Varsani, Yuliya Plyakha Ferenc, Yu Ishihara, Dinank Chitkara, Rumi MahmoodNo clear guidance presently exists on ESG and climate reporting for derivatives. Using input from market participants, regulatory guidance and a survey of existing research, we propose a framework for more transparent reporting to include derivatives.
Markets in Focus: Concentrating on Diversification
10 mins read Blog | Jan 4, 2024 | Hitendra D Varsani, Andy Sparks, Dinank ChitkaraHigher equity and bond correlation combined with increased index concentration suggest now is a good time to revisit allocations across regional, country, sector, style and thematic exposures for adequate portfolio diversification.
Low Volatility Today. Concern or Opportunity for Tomorrow?
3 mins read Quick Take | Sep 27, 2023 | Dinank Chitkara, Hitendra D VarsaniThe cost of hedging downside equity exposure has fallen substantially versus eight months ago, markedly lowering the price of insurance against rising equity volatility.
Insights from Past Concentrated Rallies and Thematic Opportunities
5 mins read Blog | Aug 16, 2023 | Dinank Chitkara, Rohit GuptaThe rally in the first half of 2023 shared some similarities, and had notable differences, with past concentrated rallies. In addition to AI, structural megatrends, such as the blockchain economy and robotics, helped drive the rally.
'Magnificent Seven' Drove the Equity-Market Rally
2 mins read Quick Take | Jun 28, 2023 | Dinank Chitkara, Rohit GuptaGlobal equities, as measured by the MSCI ACWI Index, roared back through May of 2023. A closer look, however, revealed that just a handful of stocks accounted for more than 70% of the total return. Which stocks punched above their weight?
The Futures of Climate Action Is Now
6 mins read Blog | Jun 7, 2023 | Dinank Chitkara, Hitendra D VarsaniDerivatives linked to climate investing are in the early stages of product innovation and investor adoption. We compared the impact, financial risk and opportunity metrics for futures on the MSCI Climate Action Indexes.
Did the Trend Toward Short-Dated Options Extend Across Regions?
2 mins read Quick Take | May 12, 2023 | Dinank Chitkara, Hitendra D VarsaniFollowing up on research showing why more short-dated options did not increase equity-market volatility in the U.S., we ask a similar question across regions to help global investors evaluate their portfolios.
Why More Short-Dated Options Did Not Increase Market Volatility
4 mins read Blog | May 4, 2023 | Dinank Chitkara, Hitendra D VarsaniTrading of U.S.-listed options more than doubled in 2022 compared to 2019 — as investors gradually gravitated from monthly to weekly to even daily options over those four years. Some have wondered if this could lead to greater equity-market volatilty.
Banking Crisis: Is a Storm Brewing or Behind Us?
2 mins read Quick Take | Apr 5, 2023 | Edina Szirmai, Dinank ChitkaraAfter the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and UBS’s takeover of Credit Suisse, what does the options market indicate for equity-market volatility in the months ahead?
A Day in the Life of Regional Futures
5 mins read Blog | Feb 15, 2023 | Hitendra D Varsani, Dinank ChitkaraInvestors benchmarked to global and regional indexes may use index futures for hedging or asset-allocation decisions. We analyzed the intra-day volume patterns of futures linked to the MSCI World, MSCI EM and MSCI EAFE Indexes to illuminate pockets of liquidity.
India Equity Futures for the World
6 mins read Blog | Jan 17, 2023 | Rohit Gupta, Dinank ChitkaraIndia is the world’s fifth largest economy and one of the fastest-growing major markets. We believe that futures linked to the MSCI India Index could help capture a deeper opportunity set and manage Indian equity exposure.
Derivatives Tell a Protective Story
2 mins read Quick Take | Oct 4, 2022 | Dinank Chitkara, Hitendra D VarsaniGeopolitical and macroeconomic risks have persisted, and investors remain concerned about ongoing turmoil. We assess market volatility while analyzing whether investors are hedging their portfolios going into the final quarter of 2022.
How Have Hedge Funds Navigated the Recent Market Turmoil?
2 mins read Quick Take | Jul 7, 2022 | Rohit Gupta, Dinank ChitkaraWith the MSCI World Index down 20.3% in the first half of 2022, equity hedge funds have not been immune to recent market volatility. We evaluate how equity hedge-fund exposure has changed in terms of sector and style factors.
Index Replication with Futures in a Deglobalized World
5 mins read Blog | Jul 6, 2022 | Hitendra D Varsani, Dinank ChitkaraWhile investors may aim to synthetically replicate equity indexes using a basket of local-index futures and currency forwards, our research focuses on potential country and currency risk as well as tracking error of these efforts.
Index Options Indicated Negative Market Sentiment
2 mins read Quick Take | May 25, 2022 | Dinank Chitkara, Hitendra D VarsaniIn the face of continued global equity-market volatility, we turn to the listed-options market to gauge investor perception of market risk over the coming months for EAFE, emerging markets and the U.S.
Evaluating Options in Different Macro and Volatility Regimes
5 mins read Blog | Mar 22, 2022 | Dinank Chitkara, Hitendra D VarsaniFaced with volatile markets, some have looked to options strategies to manage volatility or target alternative risk/return profiles. We evaluate historical performance of options-overlay strategies across various macro and volatilty regimes.
Paris-Aligned Indexes to Manage the Future
6 mins read Blog | Feb 17, 2022 | Dinank Chitkara, Hitendra D Varsani, Rohit MendirattaAs commitments to reach net-zero by 2050 surge, institutional investors are looking for tools to implement net-zero strategies in portfolios. Futures linked to the MSCI Climate Paris Aligned Indexes are one option for asset managers and asset owners.