MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

We have a lot of listed futures. We’re now focused on our listed options franchise and are pushing new initiatives in that front, more to come on that. And while you don’t hear us often, although there were comments earlier today on this, is the structured products and the other forms of OTC derivatives. And that is – those are growing very nicely, and there’s still the ground floor where we can achieve it.

Simon Clinch: Okay, that’s really useful. And then I guess, just lastly, on the environment for M&A and bolt-on acquisitions, could you just give us a sense of how rapidly that’s changing? And thus, I guess, just give us a sense of the opportunities you have ahead of you?

Andy Wiechmann: Yes, yes. So listen, you know – and you see this on the repurchase front, we are an organization that likes to be contrarian and opportunistic. And so in these environments, there are potentially opportunities to acquire companies that otherwise wouldn’t be available. And so, we are seeing some early-stage companies that need growth capital. They’re finding that the growth capital is more expensive or tougher to find than it was in the past. And so as a result, they are open to partnerships, investments, even acquisitions in certain instances. And so, we’re being very proactive in looking for those opportunities and think they can be instrumental in helping to accelerate those strategic opportunities in our key focus areas that we’ve talked about in areas like private assets, climate, ESG, fixed income, broader technology and data capabilities. So yes, it’s an intense focus for us right now.

Operator: Thank you. This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to MSCI’s Chairman and CEO, Mr. Henry Fernandez. Please go ahead.

Henry Fernandez: Well, thank you, everyone, for joining. As you can hear in our commentary, we continue to see strong demand for our solutions. We continue to invest significantly in large growth opportunities that are ahead of us and preserve and enhance profitability growth in the company. We’re very excited about this momentum, especially in such areas like climate, where we are determined to become the undisputed leader. Thank you, everyone, and we look forward to a continued dialogue with all of you.

Operator: Thank you. The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today’s presentation. You may now disconnect.