'MSCI' CEO and Directors Make Significant Share Buybacks

MSCI Inc. CEO Henry A. Fernandez purchased 6,800 shares of MSCI common stock on the open market on February 13 and 17, spending approximately $3.56 million (about ₩4.6 billion). As a result, his direct holdings rose to 1,493,847 shares. He also holds a significant number of shares indirectly through a family trust, family-named accounts and unexercised stock options, although no option exercises were reported in this filing.

On February 18, board member Robert G. Ash, via the entity 1000396766 Ontario Inc. that he controls, acquired 3,681 MSCI shares in an indirect purchase, investing roughly $2 million (about ₩2.6 billion). This brought his indirect holdings to 22,290 shares, with his combined direct and indirect stake valued at approximately $12.4 million.

Meanwhile, MSCI recently raised its quarterly dividend to $2.05 per share and approved up to $3 billion (about ₩3.9 trillion) for share repurchases. Institutional investors have also been increasing their positions: for example, Fiera Capital boosted its stake by 2.4%, bringing its MSCI holdings to roughly $563 million (about ₩730 billion).

MSCI is a leading U.S. financial data provider offering global equity and fixed-income indices, ETF benchmarks, and risk, factor and ESG data. Its products serve as widely used benchmarks for portfolio construction and performance evaluation among asset managers and pension funds worldwide.