Towers Watson Selects MSCI's RiskMetrics HedgePlatform

Towers Watson Selects MSCI's RiskMetrics HedgePlatform

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MSCI Inc. (NYS: MSCI) , a leading provider of investment decision support tools, announced today that Towers Watson, a leading global investment consultant, will include MSCI's RiskMetrics HedgePlatform into some of its hedge fund advisory and investment processes. As part of the agreement Towers Watson will use HedgePlatform to evaluate and monitor individual investment managers with reports based on hedge fund positions, complementing its existing suite of risk tools and enhancing hedge fund risk reports to its clients.

"Demand for position-based risk analytics of hedge fund investments continues to rise, evidenced by the growth MSCI's risk analytics business has seen over the last 12 months - from adding two of the world's top 20 pension funds as HedgePlatform clients, to this most recent agreement with Towers Watson," said Roveen Bhansali, Managing Director and Head of Risk Management Analytics for MSCI. "This increased demand reflects the confluence of two recent trends: increased allocation to alternative investments and increased desire to implement more comprehensive risk management processes, not only of alternative investments, but of total investments programs. MSCI is well placed to meet this demand given our multi-asset class risk analytics tools, our long history with our institutional clients and our ability to integrate positions of hedge fund investments with traditional and other alternative investments. We look forward to continuing to invest in this growing market segment and helping our clients as their investment needs evolve."

Damien Loveday, Global head of Hedge Fund research at Towers Watson, said: "We are continuously strengthening our level of monitoring and risk management processes in this area and the addition of MSCI's RiskMetrics HedgePlatform will support this endeavour. Having used RiskMetrics' analysis tools for a number of years and working with MSCI for the past year to develop the proposition, we have found innovative views of risk which will allow us to perform even more due diligence, monitoring, portfolio construction, and risk management for hedge fund investments to the benefit of our clients. The use of analytic tools such as this has been important in developing our Hedge Fund business and this particular platform provides extra transparency which we view as key to assessing hedge fund investments."

Towers Watson's investment business has over 750 associates worldwide and assets under advisory of over USD$2 trillion. Its specialist hedge fund team manage direct hedge fund portfolios for clients and has assets under advice in this area of over USD$20 billion.

About MSCI

MSCI Inc. is a leading provider of investment decision support tools to investors globally, including asset managers, banks, hedge funds and pension funds. MSCI products and services include indices, portfolio risk and performance analytics, and governance tools.

The company's flagship product offerings are: the MSCI indices with close to USD 7 trillion estimated to be benchmarked to them on a worldwide basis¹; Barra multi-asset class factor models, portfolio risk and performance analytics; RiskMetrics multi-asset class market and credit risk analytics; IPD real estate information, indices and analytics; MSCI ESG (environmental, social and governance) Research screening, analysis and ratings; ISS governance research and outsourced proxy voting and reporting services; FEA valuation models and risk management software for the energy and commodities markets; and CFRA forensic accounting risk research, legal/regulatory risk assessment, and due‐diligence. MSCI is headquartered in New York, with research and commercial offices around the world.

¹As of March 31, 2012, as published by eVestment, Lipper and Bloomberg in September, 2012

For further information on MSCI, please visit our web site atwww.msci.com

This document and all of the information contained in it, including without limitation all text, data, graphs, charts (collectively, the "Information") is the property of MSCI Inc. or its subsidiaries (collectively, "MSCI"), or MSCI's licensors, direct or indirect suppliers or any third party involved in making or compiling any Information (collectively, with MSCI, the "Information Providers") and is provided for informational purposes only. The Information may not be reproduced or redisseminated in whole or in part without prior written permission from MSCI.

The Information may not be used to create derivative works or to verify or correct other data or information. For example (but without limitation), the Information may not be used to create indices, databases, risk models, analytics, software, or in connection with the issuing, offering, sponsoring, managing or marketing of any securities, portfolios, financial products or other investment vehicles utilizing or based on, linked to, tracking or otherwise derived from the Information or any other MSCI data, information, products or services.

The user of the Information assumes the entire risk of any use it may make or permit to be made of the Information. NONE OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDERS MAKES ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION (OR THE RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY THE USE THEREOF), AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, EACH INFORMATION PROVIDER EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ORIGINALITY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, NON-INFRINGEMENT, COMPLETENESS, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE) WITH RESPECT TO ANY OF THE INFORMATION.

Without limiting any of the foregoing and to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall any Information Provider have any liability regarding any of the Information for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, consequential (including lost profits) or any other damages even if notified of the possibility of such damages. The foregoing shall not exclude or limit any liability that may not by applicable law be excluded or limited, including without limitation (as applicable), any liability for death or personal injury to the extent that such injury results from the negligence or wilful default of itself, its servants, agents or sub-contractors.

Information containing any historical information, data or analysis should not be taken as an indication or guarantee of any future performance, analysis, forecast or prediction. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

None of the Information constitutes an offer to sell (or a solicitation of an offer to buy), any security, financial product or other investment vehicle or any trading strategy. You cannot invest in an index.

MSCI's indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. ("ISS") is a Registered Investment Adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Except with respect to any applicable products or services from ISS (including applicable products or services from MSCI ESG Research Information, which are provided by ISS), neither MSCI nor any of its products or services recommends, endorses, approves or otherwise expresses any opinion regarding any issuer, securities, financial products or instruments or trading strategies and neither MSCI nor any of its products or services is intended to constitute investment advice or a recommendation to make (or refrain from making) any kind of investment decision and may not be relied on as such.

The MSCI ESG Indices use ratings and other data, analysis and information from MSCI ESG Research. MSCI ESG Research is produced by ISS or its subsidiaries. Issuers mentioned or included in any MSCI ESG Research materials may be a client of MSCI, ISS, or another MSCI subsidiary, or the parent of, or affiliated with, a client of MSCI, ISS, or another MSCI subsidiary, including ISS Corporate Services, Inc., which provides tools and services to issuers. MSCI ESG Research materials, including materials utilized in any MSCI ESG Indices or other products, have not been submitted to, nor received approval from, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or any other regulatory body.

Any use of or access to products, services or information of MSCI requires a license from MSCI. MSCI, Barra, RiskMetrics, ISS, CFRA, FEA, and other MSCI brands and product names are the trademarks, service marks, or registered trademarks of MSCI or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions. The Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) was developed by and is the exclusive property of MSCI and Standard & Poor's. "Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS)" is a service mark of MSCI and Standard & Poor's.

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