MSCI ESG Indexes
The combination of MSCI’s leading index and ESG Research expertise
Integrated business model
•	 Control over the quality and content of 
the ESG research
•	 Alignment between the research and 
the indexes
•	 Consistency between the ESG and 
standard indexes
Quality ESG research
•	 MSCI ESG Research has a 40 year 
legacy based on GMI Ratings, KLD, 
Innovest and IRRC
Key features
Our more than 1,500 equity and fixed income ESG indexes are used by institutional investors for index-based 
investment products, risk and return analysis, compliance with ESG mandates, and to define an investment universe. 
MSCI ESG Indexes  |  msci.com
•	 Staff of 350+ employees and more 
than 200 dedicated research analysts 
around the world
•	 Products to support the full range of 
ESG investment strategies
Experience
•	 ESG research since 1972 and indexes 
since 1990
•	 First ESG provider to assess 
companies based on industry financial 
materiality, dating back to 1999.1 
•	 Advanced data and 
technology infrastructure
Client service excellence
•	 Commited relationship management 
process
•	 Backed by a dedicated ESG client 
service team.
•	 24/5 client service
1 	 Origins of MSCI ESG Ratings established in 1999. 
2	 Planned for 2020.
•	 ESG Leaders
•	 ESG Focus
•	 ESG Universal
•	 Low Carbon
•	 Climate Change
•	 Sustainable Impact
•	 Global Environment
•	 Women’s Leadership
MSCI ESG Equity
•	 SRI
•	 KLD 400 Social
•	 ESG Screened
•	 Ex Controversial Weapons
•	 Ex Tobacco Involvement
•	 Ex Fossil Fuel
•	 Faith Based
MSCI
•	 ESG Universal
•	 ESG Leaders
•	 Climate2
Bloomberg Barclays MSCI
•	 ESG Weighted 
•	 Sustainability 
Bloomberg Barclays MSCI
•	 Green Bonds
MSCI ESG Fixed Income & Bloomberg Barclays MSCI
Bloomberg Barclays MSCI
•	 Socially Responsible (SRI) 
•	 Faith based
Impact
Values &
Screens
Integration

Overview 
MSCI ESG Indexes are designed to help clients incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into their 
investment decision making processes. The MSCI ESG Indexes range includes:
Indexes
Description
MSCI ESG Leaders 
Indexes
The indexes use a best-in-class approach by only selecting companies that have the highest MSCI 
ESG Ratings. They are free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted indexes designed to 
represent the performance of companies that have favorable ESG profiles compared to industry 
peers. Overall the indexes target a 50% sector representation vs. the parent index.
MSCI Focus Indexes
These indexes are designed to maximize exposure to positive ESG factors while exhibiting risk and 
return characteristics similar to those of the underlying market capitalization weighted index
MSCI SRI Indexes
These indexes consist of companies with the highest ESG ratings making up 25% of the adjusted 
market capitalization in each sector of a parent MSCI index, after excluding companies involved in 
alcohol, tobacco, gambling, civilian firearms, military weapons, nuclear power, adult entertainment 
and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In addition to MSCI ACWI SRI Index, MSCI World SRI 
Index and MSCI EM SRI Index, region and country sub-indexes are available. It also includes the 
MSCI KLD 400 Social Index, which was launched in May 1990 and is the first SRI index.
MSCI ESG Universal 
Indexes
These indexes are created by re-weighting free-float market cap weights based upon certain 
ESG metrics tilting away from free-float market cap weights, these indexes enhance exposure 
to those companies that demonstrate both a higher MSCI ESG Rating and a positive ESG trend, 
while maintaining a broad and diversified investment universe. Current suite of indexes include - 
MSCI ACWI ESG Universal, MSCI World ESG Universal, MSCI EM ESG Universal, MSCI Europe ESG 
Universal and MSCI USA ESG Universal Index. 
MSCI Global ex 
Tobacco Involvement 
Indexes
These indexes have been developed for institutional investors, including pension funds, and universal 
owners who wish to avoid investments in companies involved in the tobacco business. Identification 
of companies involved in the tobacco business is based on data from MSCI ESG Research.
MSCI Climate 
Change Indexes
These indexes are designed to represent the performance of a strategy that reweights securities 
based upon the opportunities and risks associated with the transition to a low carbon economy, 
enabling institutional investors and wealth managers to integrate climate risk considerations in 
their global equity investment process. 
MSCI Low Carbon 
Indexes
These indexes are intended to help identify potential risks associated with the transition to a 
low carbon economy while representing the performance of the broad equity market. Launched 
in 2014 they are the first index series designed to address two dimensions of carbon exposure: 
carbon emissions and fossil fuel reserves.
The index aims for a tracking error target of 0.3% (30 basis points) while minimizing the carbon exposure.
MSCI Global 
Environmental 
Indexes
These indexes include Low Carbon, Fossil Fuels Exclusion Thematic indexes, etc. Increasingly, 
institutional investors may need to consider how climate change may present risks and 
opportunities and how to manage carbon exposure in their portfolios. These indexes are designed 
to support various low carbon investment strategies and include the MSCI Low Carbon Indexes, 
MSCI Global Fossil Fuels Exclusion Indexes, and the MSCI Thematic Indexes.
MSCI ESG Indexes  |  msci.com

Indexes
Description
MSCI USA ESG 
Select Index
These indexes are designed to target companies with positive environmental, social and governance 
(ESG) factors while exhibiting risk and return characteristics similar to those of the MSCI USA Index. 
The index is constructed through an optimization process that aims to maximize its exposure to ESG 
factors, subject to an expected tracking error of 1.8% and other constraints. It is sector-controlled, 
and is designed to over-weight companies with high ESG ratings and under-weight companies with 
low ratings. Tobacco and Controversial Weapons companies, as well as major producers of Alcohol, 
Gambling, Firearms, Military Weapons and Nuclear Power, are not eligible for inclusion.
MSCI KLD 400 
Social Index
These indexes are designed to provide exposure to companies with high MSCI ESG Ratings while 
excluding companies whose products may have negative social or environmental impacts. It 
consists of 400 companies selected from the MSCI USA IMI Index, which includes large-, mid- and 
small-cap US companies. It aims to select companies with the highest ESG Ratings in each sector 
and maintain sector weights similar to those of the parent index.
MSCI ACWI 
Sustainable 
Impact Index
These indexes are comprised exclusively of companies whose core business addresses at 
least one of the world’s social and environmental challenges, as defined by the United Nations 
Sustainable Development Goals. To be eligible for inclusion in the Index, companies must generate 
at least 50% of their sales from one or more of the Sustainable Impact categories and maintain 
minimum environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards. The parent index is MSCI ACWI.
MSCI Fixed 
Income Indexes
These indexes are designed to help institutional investors benchmark to ESG investment 
performance, as well as manage, measure and report on ESG mandates. These indexes include 
the MSCI USD IG ESG Leaders Corporate Bond Index and the MSCI USD IG ESG Universal 
Corporate Bond Index. 
Bloomberg Barclays 
MSCI ESG-Weighted
These indexes use MSCI ESG Ratings and MSCI ESG Ratings momentum to overweight/underweight 
issuers within an existing Bloomberg Barclays parent index. These indexes include the full universe 
of index eligible securities and then apply tilts to the natural market value weights in favor of higher 
rated/positive momentum issuers and against lower rated/negative momentum issuers. 
Bloomberg Barclays 
MSCI Sustainability 
Indexes
These indexes positively screen issuers from existing Bloomberg Barclays parent indexes based 
on MSCI ESG Ratings, which are a “best in class” assessment of how well an issuer manages 
ESG risks relative to its industry peer group. ESG Ratings are available for corporate, sovereign, 
and government-related issuers. The minimum threshold applied to Bloomberg Barclays flagship 
indexes is an MSCI ESG rating of BBB or better.
Bloomberg Barclays 
MSCI Socially 
Responsible (SRI) 
Indexes
These indexes negatively screen out issuers from existing Bloomberg Barclays parent indexes that 
may be involved in business lines or activities that are in conflict with investment policies, values 
or social norms. These indexes use MSCI Business Involvement Screening Research (BISR) and 
MSCI ESG Controversies to identify exposure to screened issues. 
Bloomberg Barclays 
MSCI Green Bond 
Indexes 
These indexes offer investors an objective and robust measure of the global market for fixed 
income securities issued to fund projects with direct environmental benefits. An independent 
research-driven methodology is used to evaluate index-eligible green bonds to ensure they adhere to 
established Green Bond Principles and to classify bonds by their environmental use of proceeds.
MSCI ESG Indexes  |  msci.com

Indexes
Description
Enhanced Focus 
Indexes
The MSCI ESG Enhanced Focus Indexes are designed to maximize their exposure to positive ESG 
metrics while reducing exposure to carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHG) as 
well as their exposure to potential emissions risk of fossil fuel reserves by thirty percent (30%). 
The Indexes also aim to maintain risk and return characteristics similar to those of their respective 
underlying market capitalization weighted indexes.
ESG Screened 
Indexes
These indexes are designed for institutional investors and aim to exclude companies: associated 
with controversial, civilian, nuclear weapons and tobacco that derive revenues from thermal coal and 
oil sands extraction or that are not in compliance with the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) 
principles. The indexes incorporate these exclusions while seeking to maintain a profile similar to 
market cap indexes. The suite of six indexes is available as a standard offering for easier access and 
implementation. The exclusions have been selected to span the three pillars of Environmental, Social 
and Governance (ESG) investing which reflect investors’ most common concerns.
Custom MSCI 
ESG Indexes
These indexes are calculated using ESG criteria specified by clients and applied across developed 
and or emerging markets countries or regions.
1500
Over
MSCI ESG Indexes
MSCI is the leading  
major index provider 
with in‑house ESG 
research expertise.
About MSCI ESG Research products and services
MSCI ESG Research products and services are provided by MSCI ESG Research LLC, and are designed to provide in-depth 
research, ratings and analysis of environmental, social and governance-related business practices to companies worldwide. ESG 
ratings, data and analysis from MSCI ESG Research LLC. are also used in the construction of the MSCI ESG Indexes. MSCI ESG 
Research LLC. is a Registered Investment Adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and a subsidiary of MSCI Inc.
About MSCI 
MSCI is a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community. With over 50 
years of expertise in research, data and technology, we power better investment decisions by enabling clients to understand 
and analyze key drivers of risk and return and confidently build more effective portfolios. We create industry-leading research-
enhanced solutions that clients use to gain insight into and improve transparency across the investment process.
To learn more, please visit www.msci.com.
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