ESG Ratings
MSCI ESG Ratings is a data and analytics service that evaluates companies on their financially relevant environmental, social, and governance risks and opportunities.
Publisher review
MSCI ESG Ratings is a data and analytics service that evaluates companies on their financially relevant environmental, social, and governance risks and opportunities. It is designed primarily for institutional investors, asset managers, and financial analysts who need to integrate ESG considerations into investment processes, risk management, and portfolio construction. The service covers more than 17,000 issuers and 999,000 securities worldwide, making it one of the most comprehensive ESG rating platforms available. By focusing on industry-specific issues, it aims to provide a materiality-driven assessment that aligns with long-term value creation, rather than measuring a company's overall ethical impact.
The methodology is rules-based and analyzes over 1,000 data points per company, including key performance indicators, policies, targets, and 35 ESG key issues. Ratings are assigned on an industry-relative letter scale from AAA (leader) to CCC (laggard), with companies categorized into seven letter grades. MSCI augments corporate disclosure with alternative data sources, such as news reports, government databases, and NGO publications, to fill gaps in self-reported information. The platform uses technology to process data at scale, enabling continuous monitoring of emerging risks and opportunities relevant to each company's core business based on its industry. Exposure metrics and management metrics are combined across different components of a company's value chain to derive the final rating.
MSCI competes directly with FactSet Corporate ESG Ratings and Research, Sustainalytics, and the Bloomberg Terminal. While Sustainalytics also offers industry-relative ratings and Bloomberg provides integrated ESG data within its terminal, MSCI differentiates itself through its long track record (over 50 years of research heritage) and its focus on financial materiality rather than impact. Historically, companies with the highest MSCI ESG Ratings outperformed their lower-rated peers in developed markets over 17 years and in combined developed and emerging markets over 11 years, according to MSCI's own research. However, academic studies show only a 60% correlation across different ESG rating providers, highlighting significant methodological divergence.
The service has notable trade-offs. Its high subscription cost can be prohibitive for smaller firms, and the integration of ratings across multiple tools (screening, portfolio analytics, research reports) creates a steep learning curve. Critics point to a lack of transparency in the underlying data and scoring methodology, making it difficult for users to verify specific company scores. Additionally, the focus on financial materiality means the ratings do not measure a company's broader societal or environmental impact, which may misalign with values-driven investors. A 2025 study found that MSCI ESG rating downgrades lead to annualized negative abnormal returns of approximately 3% over six months, driven primarily by institutional investor trading, but E rating changes matter more than S or G changes.
How it works
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Industry-relative letter ratings
Assigns AAA to CCC ratings based on a company's exposure and management of ESG risks relative to its industry peers.
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Global issuer coverage
Covers over 17,000 issuers and 999,000 securities worldwide, providing broad geographic and sectoral scope.
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Rules-based methodology
Uses a structured, rules-based approach to identify industry leaders and laggards, analyzing over 1,000 data points per company.
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Alternative data augmentation
Supplements corporate disclosures with data from news, government, and NGO sources to reduce reliance on self-reported information.
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Continuous risk monitoring
Monitors emerging ESG risks and opportunities in real time, focusing on 35 key issues relevant to each industry.
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Integrated platform tools
Combines ratings, research, screening, and portfolio analytics into a single platform for institutional users.
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Financial materiality focus
Assesses only ESG factors that are financially relevant to a company's core business, not broader impact metrics.
Strengths and trade-offs
Strengths
- Covers more than 17,000 issuers and 999,000 securities, offering one of the widest scopes among ESG rating providers.
- Companies rated AAA historically outperformed lower-rated peers in developed markets over 17 years and in combined markets over 11 years.
- Analyzes over 1,000 data points and 35 ESG key issues per company, providing granular, industry-specific insights.
- Integrates data, research, screening, and portfolio tools in one platform, supporting informed decision-making for institutional investors.
Trade-offs
- Subscription costs are typically high compared to peers like Sustainalytics, limiting access for smaller firms.
- The platform's integration across multiple tools creates a steep learning curve for new users.
- Focus on financial materiality means ratings do not measure a company's broader societal or environmental impact.
- Lack of transparency in underlying data and scoring methodology makes it hard to verify specific company scores.
Pricing context
Subscription-based pricing with tiered plans based on coverage (number of issuers), data depth (e.g., raw data vs. summary ratings), and user requirements (individual vs. enterprise). Exact dollar figures are not publicly disclosed; license agreements apply for broader usage and system integration.
Getting started with ESG Ratings
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Sign up for MSCI ESG Ratings
Visit the MSCI ESG Ratings website and complete the registration form. Provide your institutional details, including organization type, investment focus, and user count. A sales representative will contact you to finalize the subscription agreement and set up your account.
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Connect your portfolio data
Upload your portfolio holdings in CSV or Excel format through the platform's data import tool. Map your security identifiers (ISIN, CUSIP, or ticker) to MSCI's coverage universe. The system will automatically match your holdings to the corresponding ESG ratings.
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Configure rating filters and views
Set your preferred industry-relative rating thresholds (e.g., AAA to CCC) and select the 35 ESG key issues relevant to your sectors. Customize the dashboard to display exposure and management scores, and choose between summary ratings or raw data points for analysis.
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Run a portfolio screening report
Navigate to the screening module and select your uploaded portfolio. Choose the ESG rating criteria, such as excluding CCC-rated issuers or overweighting AAA-rated companies. Generate the report to view compliance with your ESG policy and identify high-risk holdings.
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Schedule continuous monitoring alerts
Set up automated alerts for rating changes, downgrades, or emerging risk events on your portfolio holdings. Configure email or in-platform notifications for specific ESG key issues. Review weekly summaries to adjust your investment strategy based on real-time data.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are MSCI ESG Ratings?
MSCI ESG Ratings evaluate companies on financially relevant environmental, social, and governance risks and opportunities. Designed for institutional investors, the service covers over 17,000 issuers and 999,000 securities worldwide, using a rules-based methodology to assign industry-relative letter grades from AAA to CCC.
How does MSCI determine ESG ratings?
MSCI uses a rules-based methodology analyzing over 1,000 data points per company, including key performance indicators, policies, and 35 ESG key issues. It augments corporate disclosures with alternative data from news, government, and NGO sources to fill gaps, then combines exposure and management metrics for the final rating.
How much do MSCI ESG Ratings cost?
MSCI ESG Ratings use subscription-based pricing with tiered plans based on coverage, data depth, and user requirements. Exact dollar figures are not publicly disclosed, but costs are typically high compared to peers like Sustainalytics, which can limit access for smaller firms.
How do MSCI ESG Ratings compare to Sustainalytics?
Both offer industry-relative ratings, but MSCI differentiates itself with over 50 years of research heritage and a focus on financial materiality rather than broader impact. MSCI covers more issuers (over 17,000) but typically has higher subscription costs and a steeper learning curve.
Do MSCI ESG Ratings predict stock performance?
According to MSCI's research, companies with the highest ratings historically outperformed lower-rated peers in developed markets over 17 years. However, a 2025 study found that rating downgrades lead to negative abnormal returns of about 3% over six months, driven by institutional trading.
What are the limitations of MSCI ESG Ratings?
The ratings focus on financial materiality, so they don't measure a company's broader societal or environmental impact. Critics cite lack of transparency in data and methodology, high subscription costs, and a steep learning curve from integrating multiple platform tools.
Alternatives
How ESG Ratings compares
Direct head-to-head against 3 competitors. Picked by 7wData.
ESG Ratings
- Pricing
- Subscription-based pricing with tiered plans based on coverage (number of issuers), data depth (e.g., raw data vs. summary ratings), and user requirements (individual vs. enterprise). Exact dollar figures are not publicly disclosed; license agreements apply for broader usage and system integration.
- Target
- MSCI ESG Ratings is a data and analytics service that evaluates companies on their financially relevant environmental, social, and governance risks and opportunities.
- Strength
- Covers more than 17,000 issuers and 999,000 securities, offering one of the widest scopes among ESG rating providers.
- Watch for
- Subscription costs are typically high compared to peers like Sustainalytics, limiting access for smaller firms.
Sustainalytics
- Pricing
- Custom/Contact sales
- Target
- Asset managers, pension funds, corporates
- Deployment
- Cloud
- Strength
- ESG Risk Ratings with granular risk exposure scores
- Watch for
- Methodology criticized for opacity; acquired by Morningstar in 2020
S&P Global ESG Scores
- Pricing
- Custom/Contact sales
- Target
- Institutional investors, corporates
- Deployment
- Cloud
- Strength
- Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) with 1,000+ data points
- Watch for
- Premium pricing; scores can lag real-time events by months
Integrum ESG
- Pricing
- Transparent tiered pricing (exact undisclosed)
- Target
- Mid-market asset managers, corporates
- Deployment
- Cloud
- Strength
- Frequently refreshed data with traceable methodology
- Watch for
- Smaller coverage universe (~5,000 companies)
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Sources
Reporting on this tool draws on these publicly available sources.