MSCI aims to bolster climate analytics with acquisition

Amid growing investor demand for environmental insight, industry research firm firm MSCI Inc. is buying Carbon Delta AG, an environmentally focused fintech and data analytics firm.

MSCI announced that, along with its Swiss subsidiary, MSCI Barra (Suisse) Sàrl, it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Zurich-based Carbon Delta to beef up its climate risk assessment and reporting research for institutional investors.

The terms of the deal were not announced. The transaction is expected to close within the next month, subject to customary closing conditions, MSCI said.

The combined firms aim to provide global investors with greater insight into the impact of climate change on their investment portfolios.

“We believe climate change will become one of the most important investment factors over the long term. Institutional investors should be able to analyze the exposure of their portfolios to climate risk while also being able to report on their climate strategy,” said Remy Briand, head of ESG at MSCI.

“We are pleased to come together with Carbon Delta to provide our clients with state-of-the-art climate risk analysis capabilities that can help shape investment management practices of the future,” he added.

MSCI’s Climate Risk Center in Zurich will lead the firm’s development of climate change risk analytics.

“The aim will be to develop strong partnerships with leading academic and research institutions around the world to advance the use of climate science for financial risk analysis,” MSCI said in a release.

“Carbon Delta has aimed to create the best climate change scenario analytics for financial institutions,” said Dr. Oliver Marchand, CEO of Carbon Delta. “We are very excited to join forces with MSCI to mature and grow our products. Combining Carbon Delta’s scenario analysis and MSCI’s products is what institutional investors have been asking for.”

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