The measures include giving managers of swap-based exchange-traded funds six months to provide data on their underlying index constituents, which MSCI will start using to generate environmental, social and governance scores instead of collateral, it said.
About 31,000 funds are about to have their ESG scores lowered at MSCI, as the firm’s ratings unit works through a major overhaul of its methodology in response to feedback from market participants.
Clients had voiced concerns about “an upward drift in ratings across the fund universe”, which is now being addressed, according to MSCI ESG Research.
