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

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Toni Kaplan: Perfect. I wanted to ask my follow-up on MSCI ONE. I know you recently launched that. Maybe just clarify – I know you said it’s not really supposed to replace an old product or be sort of a new stand-alone platform to replace other products. So I guess maybe help us with who the main users are there, what the opportunity is there, because I think it seems meaningful. And I just want to understand it a little bit better? Thanks.

Baer Pettit: Sure, Toni Baer here. So look, I think the way to think about it is through a few different layers. One is we clearly have a diverse range of calculation engines, which create kind of state-of-the-art analytics of various kind and outputs, which are distributed throughout the firm and different asset classes, et cetera. Then we have some traditional platforms and other distribution methods through files, et cetera, that we’ve had. And then, we have sort of newer content that we’re building. So the way to – the best thing – way to think about MSCI on is a combination of those traditional outputs of our – if you like, our calculation factory and sort of industry standard software that allows those to be presented in a more user-friendly way and brought together in a similar type of platform, which in turn improves both the user experience and users’ ability to manipulate that data to do – to have greater flexibility in how they present it, et cetera.

So for sure, we think we’re on a very important path forward here. It’s incremental. As we move forward during the course of 2023, we think that the client impact of that will increase. And we hope – definitely hope and intend to continue to give you positive news and update around all of that. So I think there is maybe a – how should I put it, a risk that we’re understanding this somewhat. And that’s what I try to wanted to make some comments about it today. At the same time, we want to make sure that we are the delivery department and not the promise department in this area. So as the year progresses, we’ll make sure that as we bring out new functionality, new capabilities, new ways of integrating and our clients start using those more, we’ll keep you abreast of that.

But we’re certainly very positive about it. And we think that, over time, this will really be a way that our clients start to think of MSCI in a different way as regards the flexibility and the ease of use of – in their day-to-day working with our content.

Toni Kaplan: Sounds great. Thanks.

Operator: Our next question comes from Manav Patnaik from Barclays. Manav, please go ahead.

Manav Patnaik: Thank you. Andy, I just wanted to get back to the retention rate comments you made, the drop, I guess, particularly in analytics. Can you just give us some color around, I guess, where those cancellations or the drop came from? And were they more kind of on time closures in nature? I know you said you’re being a little bit more cautious going into ’22. But just trying to understand how – what that is and how that might continue into ’23.

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