SINGAPORE: MSCI Inc, a provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community, today announced that the MSCI Russia Indices will be reclassified from Emerging Markets (EM) to Standalone Markets status.

       The reclassification decision will be implemented in one step across all MSCI Indices, including standard, custom, and derived indices, at a price that is effectively zero, and as of the close of March 9, 2022, it said in a statement issued here.

       On Feb 28, 2022, MSCI said it launched a consultation with international institutional investors on the accessibility and investability of the Russian equity market.

       During the consultation, MSCI received feedback from a large number of global market participants, including asset owners, asset managers, broker-dealers, and exchanges.

       "An overwhelming majority confirming that the Russian equity market is currently uninvestable and that Russian securities should be removed from the MSCI EM Indices,” it said.

       MSCI said consultation participants highlighted several recent negative developments that led to a material deterioration in the accessibility of the Russian equity market to international institutional investors to such an extent that it does not meet the Market Accessibility requirements for EM classification as per the MSCI Market Classification Framework.

       To assist investors in their planning for the implementation of the reclassification decision, MSCI already calculates more than 100 global and regional indices that exclude Russia, among others, the MSCI EM ex Russia; MSCI All Country World Index ex Russia; MSCI EM Europe, the Middle East, and Africa ex Russia; and MSCI EM Eastern Europe ex Russia.

       The full list of MSCI ex Russia Indices is available on request.

       MSCI said it will continue to monitor market developments and may issue additional guidance or announce further changes relevant to specific indices, if necessary.

       It reminded users of its indices for any purpose, including both indexed and active management, that they are responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable sanctions and any other rules, regulations, prohibitions, laws, and other restrictions applicable to their portfolios, trading, and other investment activity.

       On Feb 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. - Bernama