Key Takeaways
- • MSCI and UBS announced a strategic partnership on July 9, 2026, combining MSCI's independent data, analytics, and AI-powered platform capabilities with UBS's alternatives expertise and global client insights to advance transparency in private markets.
- • The partnership addresses longstanding industry fragmentation in private markets by creating a standardized, connected experience across the full investment lifecycle, enabling investors to access insights more efficiently and evaluate opportunities with greater confidence.
- • UBS will serve as an early adopter of MSCI's expanded platform and collaborate to advocate for broader market adoption and standardization across the private markets ecosystem, leveraging its position as the world's largest global wealth manager and a leading asset manager.
- • The collaboration integrates investment operations, due diligence tools, data, and analytics to help close transparency gaps that have historically constrained institutional decision-making in private markets.
- • Henry Fernandez, MSCI Chairman and CEO, positioned the partnership as extending the independence, rigor, and accessibility that investors expect in public markets to the increasingly important private markets investment landscape.
Summary
MSCI Inc. and UBS Group AG announced a strategic partnership on July 9, 2026, aimed at advancing transparency and standardization across private markets. The collaboration combines MSCI's established capabilities in independent data, analytics, and proprietary models with UBS's deep expertise in alternatives management and comprehensive client insights spanning Limited Partners, Wealth Management, and Asset Management segments.
The partnership centers on expanding MSCI's AI-powered platform to address persistent industry challenges, particularly fragmented data infrastructure and limited transparency that have historically constrained institutional investors' ability to conduct thorough due diligence and comparative analysis in private markets. By integrating investment operations and due diligence tools with standardized data and analytics, the companies aim to create a more connected experience across the complete private markets investment lifecycle—from opportunity evaluation through portfolio management and reporting.
UBS's role extends beyond a strategic partner to that of an early adopter and market advocate. As the world's largest truly global wealth manager and a leading asset manager, UBS will deploy the platform across its own operations while collaborating with MSCI to drive broader adoption and establish industry standards for private markets infrastructure. This dual approach—internal implementation combined with external advocacy—positions the partnership to influence market-wide adoption patterns among institutional investors.
Henry Fernandez, Chairman and CEO of MSCI, underscored the strategic rationale: "As private markets become an increasingly important part of the investment landscape, investors are looking for the insights, rigor and accessibility that they have come to expect in public markets." Sergio P. Ermotti, Group Chief Executive Officer of UBS, characterized the partnership as building on the companies' long-standing relationship and their "shared ambition to increase transparency in private markets." This alignment reflects broader institutional demand for enhanced operational infrastructure and decision-support tools as alternative assets command larger allocations within institutional portfolios.
The partnership centers on expanding MSCI's AI-powered platform to address persistent industry challenges, particularly fragmented data infrastructure and limited transparency that have historically constrained institutional investors' ability to conduct thorough due diligence and comparative analysis in private markets. By integrating investment operations and due diligence tools with standardized data and analytics, the companies aim to create a more connected experience across the complete private markets investment lifecycle—from opportunity evaluation through portfolio management and reporting.
UBS's role extends beyond a strategic partner to that of an early adopter and market advocate. As the world's largest truly global wealth manager and a leading asset manager, UBS will deploy the platform across its own operations while collaborating with MSCI to drive broader adoption and establish industry standards for private markets infrastructure. This dual approach—internal implementation combined with external advocacy—positions the partnership to influence market-wide adoption patterns among institutional investors.
Henry Fernandez, Chairman and CEO of MSCI, underscored the strategic rationale: "As private markets become an increasingly important part of the investment landscape, investors are looking for the insights, rigor and accessibility that they have come to expect in public markets." Sergio P. Ermotti, Group Chief Executive Officer of UBS, characterized the partnership as building on the companies' long-standing relationship and their "shared ambition to increase transparency in private markets." This alignment reflects broader institutional demand for enhanced operational infrastructure and decision-support tools as alternative assets command larger allocations within institutional portfolios.
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