MSCI Appoints Ashley Lester as Global Head of Research

(BUSINESS WIRE)--MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community, announced today that Ashley Lester has joined the firm as Global Head of Research and as a member of MSCI’s Executive Committee. Based in London, Mr. Lester will report to Baer Pettit, President.

In this role, Mr. Lester will be responsible for the development of MSCI’s research across the firm’s product lines and client segments of asset managers, asset owners, banks, corporates, hedge funds, insurance companies, and wealth managers. He will partner closely with MSCI’s product, client coverage, technology, and marketing teams to ensure the continued development of innovative research, analysis, and solutions that aim to help investors navigate a rapidly transforming investment landscape.

"Ashley is an innovative thinker and brings with him a wealth of expertise as an investor, in business leadership and quantitative and qualitative analysis,” said Mr. Pettit. “I am confident that his background and in-depth knowledge of the financial markets and risk analytics will prove invaluable as we continue to work towards our mission of creating research-based solutions for our clients.”

Mr. Lester joins MSCI with over a decade of extensive experience in business leadership, investment management, and multi-asset class investment research. Previously, he spent eight years at Schroders plc in London, most recently as the founding Head of Systematic Investments, in which he led a team managing over $20 billion in equity factor and ESG strategies. He had previously served in Schroders’ Multi-Asset Investment Group as Head of Multi-Asset Research, leading research into portfolio construction, asset allocation modeling, and capital market assumptions.

Before Schroders, Mr. Lester spent two years at MSCI as the Head of Fixed Income and Multi-Asset Class Research, where he managed MSCI’s global team of researchers covering fixed income, multi-asset class modeling, and valuation, driving the research agenda for MSCI’s market-leading risk solutions. Before joining MSCI, Mr. Lester was Managing Director and Head of Market Risk Analytics at Morgan Stanley, spent several years as an Assistant Professor of Economics at Columbia Business School and Brown University, and served as a Graduate Economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Economics with First Class Honors and the University Medal from the University of Sydney and a PhD in Economics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

“I am thrilled to be rejoining MSCI at a time of rapid change throughout the investment industry globally,” said Mr. Lester. “MSCI is uniquely well-placed to serve the needs of investors and I am looking forward to leading the development of our best-in-class investment insights.”

About MSCI Inc.

MSCI is a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community. With over 50 years of expertise in research, data, and technology, we power better investment decisions by enabling clients to understand and analyze key drivers of risk and return and confidently build more effective portfolios. We create industry-leading research-enhanced solutions that clients use to gain insight into and improve transparency across the investment process.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or performance and involve risks that may cause actual results or performance differ materially and you should not place undue reliance on them. Risks that could affect results or performance are in MSCI’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year ended on December 31 that is filed with the SEC. MSCI does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements. No information herein constitutes investment advice or should be relied on as such. MSCI grants no right or license to use its products or services without an appropriate license. MSCI MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR OTHERWISE WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION HEREIN AND DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

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