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MSCI enters digital assets market

Indices boardIndex provider MSCI has announced a partnership with UK-based Menai Financial Group, a provider of institutional-grade digital asset investment products.

The collaboration will see Menai advise MSCI on the development of its digital assets offering.

According to MSCI, it is one of its first collaborations in the digital assets space and is in recognition of the growing investor demand for analytical tools in the emerging asset class.

It was reported in June 2021 that MSCI was looking to launch indexes for cryptocurrency assets after CEO Henry Fernandez was quoted by Reuters, although no further details of such an ambition had emerged until now.

The index provider also hopes that its work with Menai will help its institutional investors better understand the relationship between digital and traditional assets and help with portfolio construction.

“Digital assets often get conflated with cryptocurrencies but the market is far larger than that,” said Henry Fernandez, chairman and CEO of MSCI.

“Applications associated with digital assets are transforming long-established technologies such as payment, trading and settlement systems, among others.”

Zoe Cruz, founder and CEO of Menai Financial Group, added: “Institutional players are keen to participate in the digital asset markets, but have historically struggled to find the means to do so in a way that meets the high standards of professionalism, scale, risk management, security and rigour required by traditional financial markets.”

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