Explore every episode of the podcast Perspectives

The great wealth transition has arrived, and with it comes a new client base for wealth managers who demand personalization, tech-driven solutions and portfolios that reflect their values. April Rudin of The Rudin Group, join our own Govinda Quish and Dimtris Melas walk us through these shifts, along with a side trip into the global economic and market environment in which they exist.

The great wealth transition has arrived, and with it comes a new client base for wealth managers who demand personalization, tech-driven solutions and portfolios that reflect their values. April Rudin of The Rudin Group, join our own Govinda Quish and Dimtris Melas walk us through these shifts, along with a side trip into the global economic and market environment in which they exist.

Globally, investors are rethinking the "pie chart" of traditional asset allocation. Many are adopting the total portfolio approach (TPA) - a holistic way of assessing how every investment contributes to the risk and return of the entire portfolio. In this episode, Oleg Ruban, MSCI's Head of APAC Research, and Ian Patrick, Chief Investment Officer of Australian Retirement Trust, discuss how that shift is taking shape across Asia-Pacific. They explore why some institutions are embracing TPA while others remain cautious, the cultural challenges of breaking down investment silos and how climate goals and AI are reshaping portfolio decisions.

The world's most innovative companies - leaders in AI, fintech, space tech and beyond - are staying private longer and growing bigger before going public. That means much of today's growth story is unfolding out of reach for many investors. In this episode MSCI's Mehdi Alighanbari, Caplight's Javier Avalos and Derek Yan of KraneShares discuss the fast-growing market for venture-backed private companies. They explore how secondary markets, new data, evolving regulation and index-based products are making this once-opaque space more transparent and accessible.

After years of U.S. market dominance, the tide may be turning. MSCI's Ashley Lester and Axel Kilian reveal what they're hearing from global investors—from rising interest in Europe and Asia to growing concerns about currency risk and private equity liquidity. This mid-year check-in offers timely insights into how capital may be repositioning for what's next.

After holding on and repeating the mantra, "stay alive until 2025," six months into the new year, commercial real estate investors find themselves anxious about the way forward. But are there actual signs of distress? Our panel of real estate experts explain.

Questions abound around inflation, interest rates, trade disruption - and beneath it all, fixed-income and derivatives markets adapting at speed. With Treasury auctions stirring unease and a dramatic shift in how global investors are positioning, it's no surprise that bonds and derivatives are back in focus. But the questions are bigger than just "what and where to buy." They're about what tools to use, which risks to hedge and how to think long-term while volatility dominates the conversation.

Luke Flemmer, MSCI's head of private assets, provides his views on how the industry, tools and participants stand to evolve as the worlds of public and private investing converge and more investors adopt a total portfolio approach.

Though many of the headlines follow every twist and turn that equities have taken over the last month, fixed income remains an important part of the story. From drivers of inflation to the relative strength of the U.S. dollar and the rise of private credit as a funding source for corporate America, understanding the shifting dynamics is key as investors plot their next move.

As the year started, the overriding theme was the dominance of the U.S. in the world's financial markets. However, there were already some uncertainties on the horizon. Three months later we have seen quite astounding action on both the policy front and in financial markets. MSCI's roundtable of experts provide their unique perspective on it all.

25 years on from the peak of the dot-com bubble, we discuss parallels between today's AI-driven market boom and the dot-com era with MSCI's Donald Sze, exploring market sentiment, lessons from history and implications for investors navigating current dynamics.

Trade tensions are rising - what does this mean for investors? MSCI's Abhishek Gupta and Thomas Verbraken discuss the latest tariff developments, their potential impact on inflation and interest rates and how they could reshape market dynamics in 2025 and beyond.

Real estate is resetting - but not everywhere and not all at once. Tom Leahy and Ben Chow, the EMEA and APAC heads of real-estate research at MSCI, unpack 2025's key trends, from interest rates to AI-driven demand, and discuss why strategy, timing and resilience could be important drivers going forward.

The first Bitcoin was mined on Jan. 3, 2009. Since then, much of the story has been about volatility, speculation and retail investors. But our guests - including MSCI's Padmakar Kulkarni, Barbara Schlyter of DWS Group and Menai's CIO, Shubin Jha - help us dig deeper into the world of digital-assets investing and examine why institutional investors have started to pay closer attention.

The dominance of the U.S. showed no signs of waning as the year began. But what will investors be watching as they seek to steady an unbalanced world? Our quarterly panel breaks down the potential effects for global equities, fixed income and private investments, as well as one area where it's Asia that dominates - energy consumption.

With fixed-income investors still recovering from a year that arguably saw nearly every cycle of the market, we look ahead to 2025 across sectors, including sustainability-linked bonds, securitized products and the ongoing effects of inflation and moves by central banks.

When it comes to managing portfolios, the role of risk, and risk managers continues to evolve. We hear from two industry leaders, recently returned from the MSCI Analytics Summit, on the future of identifying, measuring and managing risk.

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.

Rate hikes from central banks around the world may offer a glimmer of hope to commercial real estate (CRE) investors, but will it be the panacea they're looking for? We discuss the state of the CRE debt market and the potential path for portfolios.

One of the key aspects of controlling or limiting climate change is the energy transition. That is, the global energy sector's shift from fossil-based systems of energy production and consumption - including oil, natural gas and coal - to renewable energy sources like wind and solar, as well as lithium-ion batteries. To discuss where things stand in the transition, we spoke to MSCI ESG Research's Chris Cote and Yu Ishihara, author of the recently published paper "Auto Industry: Emissions vs. Economics," along with Tyler Rosenlicht, Head of Natural Resource Equities at Cohen Steers.

As investors look to manage the outsized effect of the "Magnificent Seven" and the tech sector in general, we explore sector-based investing, which offers a strategic approach for investors looking to gain exposure to distinctive segments of the economy. MSCI's own Abhishek Gupta and Dinank Chitkara dig deep into their recent paper, "Incorporating Sector Investing in Portfolio Management," and Vanguard's, Andrey Kotlyarenko, provides a view into how investors put this all into practice.

With stubborn inflation, a plunging Japanese yen and unpredictable elections around the globe, 2024 has proven challenging for fixed-income investors — and for central banks. We sat down with MSCI’s global head of fixed-income solutions research, Afsaneh Mastouri, to talk about the state of fixed-income markets, and what the rest of the year may hold.

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.

The Inflation Reduction Act provides large incentives for a shift to clean energy in the U.S. MSCI teamed up with the Rocky Mountain Institute to investigate its effects on utilities.

How does Adam Gibbon of AXA IM balance climate impact with investment results? We get his take on the voluntary carbon markets, and how he assesses potential opportunities for his fund’s portfolio.

While more countries and companies are making plans for a low-carbon future, emissions are still rising and the deadlines for action are closing in. Enter the carbon markets, where companies can purchase credits to offset their carbon footprint until long-term reduction plans become a reality. We explore these markets and their potential impact on companies and investors.

Our quarterly market analysis, features a robust discussion of the public and private markets, as well as a deep dive and some surprising results from the world of sustainable investing.

Abruptly shutting down all the coal-fired power plants may appeal to some, but there would likely be unintended consequences for investors, as well as plant employees and those who live where the plants are located. We dig into why a managed coal phaseout with specific target dates and actions may create a level of certainty for all involved.

Since ChatGPT's debut less than 18 months ago, artificial intelligence has dominated headlines, and excitement and apprehension now surround its entry into the world of finance and investment. But just what are the expectations and misconceptions?

Last week’s episode left a lot on the cutting-room floor. Here we offer the chance to listen to our complete interview with Jim Costello, chief economist at MSCI Real Assets, where he assesses the commercial real-estate landscape, including the pricing gap between buyers and sellers.

When it comes to commercial real estate, much of the attention of investors and the financial press has focused on the state of the office sector, which has been hurting. And while real concerns exist, there are also potential opportunities across and within the various real-estate sectors.

Inflation is down, but stubborn, and investors are still digesting Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s statements after the latest meeting of the FOMC. We sit down for a one-on-one interview with, Andy Sparks, to assess where we stand in the give and take between central banks and markets.

For global investors, the idea of individual country or market allocations isn’t new. But in today’s world, with a dynamic geopolitical map, the rewiring of supply chains and greater focus on sustainable investing, it may be time for a new approach.

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.

While the media focused on the battle over the wording of the final agreement, there was actually a lot of progress that flew further under the radar, but may have a greater impact on investors. Founding director and head of the MSCI Sustainability Institute, Linda-Eling Lee, and Guy Turner, head of MSCI Carbon Markets, share their experiences on the ground in Dubai and what the outcomes may mean for investors.

Listen in on an in-depth discussion about the growing demand for and personalized tax-efficient strategies from wealth-management clients — driven by technological revolution and the coming, intergenerational transfer of wealth.

Richard Hill of Cohen & Steers joins MSCI’s Jim Costello to discuss the changing perceptions of the commercial-property market, from dull and boring to dynamic and complex — and the current set of risks and potential opportunities.

Our quarterly roundtable examines markets and market-moving events to help institutional investors as they determine the best way forward; across asset classes and parsing out differences between developed and emerging markets.

The launch of the MSCI Sustainability Institute, founded and led by Linda-Eling Lee was attended by some of the most highly respected members of the ESG-investment community. We explore the institute’s aims and how it will work with investors, companies, academics and policymakers to drive action by capital markets.

We sat with MSCI’s global head of research for a wide-ranging discussion, including why he chose to return to the company now, the challenges and opportunities facing the investment industry and a unique take on risk management, ESG and climate and AI and technology.

Physical risk from climate change has started to affect nearly every region of the world, from the four hottest days on record occurring in a row this month to more frequent, more intense storms. We discuss what this all may mean for companies, insurers and investors.

Investors are faced with the potential of “sticky” inflation, continued equity-market concentration and expectations that U.S. interest rates may be higher for longer. We sit down with a panel of MSCI experts to get their views on the questions being asked and answered by markets and investors, and the potential implications heading into the second half of 2023.  

In many ways, the EU has led the way on climate regulation in an effort to increase transparency and decision making through disclosure from companies, as well as investors. We discuss what’s expected from the EU sustainable finance package, and its potential impact.

As discussions continue in Washington, D.C., we examine how markets have handled the uncertainty so far, how such showdowns played out in the past and three “what if” default scenarios.

2023 has presented many risks and potential opportunities for investors, including inflation, continued war in Ukraine and China’s lifting of the zero-COVID policy, which allowed people and goods to travel as freely as they did before the pandemic gripped the globe. We look into how it’s gone so far.

The news on progress toward climate change and biodiversity goals was not great as Earth Day 2023 approached. But there were some bright spots, including detailed proposals to move forward, increased attention from governments in the form of regulation and a growing awareness from investors that accounting for these issues may be the right thing to do for their portfolios.

The first quarter of 2023 came with its own set of surprises for investors, whether looked at through the lens of market returns, factor returns and trying to figure out Central Banks... not to mention the fallout from some notable bank failures. We examine it all with MSCI’s Hitendra Varsani and Mark Carver.

Banks failing, another sold and governments stepping in to backstop the fallout. Add to that a global economy coping with high inflation and still shaking off the COVID-19 cobwebs and, on top of that, regularly scheduled meetings for two major central banks. Our panel of MSCI experts helps put these events into context for investors managing multi-asset-class portfolios.

We dig into the findings from the latest Women on Boards report, and why they matter for companies and investors, with report co-author Olga Emelianova, MSCI's Chief Responsibility and Chief Diversity Officer, Tia Counts and Shweta Narasimhadevara of State Street Global Advisors.