MSCI and UBS ink partnership to improve transparency in private markets

[SINGAPORE] MSCI and UBS have announced a strategic partnership to address longstanding industry challenges in private markets such as fragmented data and limited transparency.

In a joint statement on Friday (Jul 10), MSCI and UBS said they aim to offer a more connected and standardised experience across the full private markets investment life cycle, enabling investors to access insights more efficiently and evaluate opportunities with greater confidence.

UBS will use MSCI’s AI-powered private markets platform, contributing insights from its limited partner, wealth management and asset management businesses.  

The platform brings together fund discovery, portfolio management, analytics and benchmarking capabilities within a single ecosystem.

It also streamlines data management and drives transparency, bridging private and public markets.

In addition, automated data processing and independent performance data from MSCI provide investors with more timely and consistent insights across portfolios.

UBS will also work with MSCI to advocate for broader market adoption and standardisation across private markets.

UBS group CEO Sergio Ermotti said the shared ambition is to “increase transparency in private markets”.

“Through our collaboration with MSCI, our goal is to help to shape the next generation of private markets portfolio management solutions and transform the decision-making process for clients across public and private markets,” he added.

Henry Fernandez, chairman and CEO of MSCI, said: “As private markets become an increasingly important part of the investment landscape, investors are looking for the insights, rigour and accessibility that they have come to expect in public markets.”  

Other players are also making efforts to improve data transparency in the private markets space.

Earlier last week, BlackRock Aladdin announced the expansion of its Preqin Benchmarks and Indices solutions to give investors access to both reporting-grade indices and customisable, transparent peer benchmarks in one place.

This will help create a common performance measurement standard for private markets, and support peer comparison and manager evaluation to policy benchmarking and investment reporting.

The result will be greater transparency, consistency and standardisation for private markets performance and risk analysis.

Private markets benchmarking has historically been fragmented and difficult to compare, with investors relying on disconnected tools across the investment life cycle.

Investors often have to navigate multiple providers for different types of performance measurement.

Aladdin said combining these into one solution gives investors a more accurate and comprehensive view of performance across the investment life cycle.