MSCI Barra (NYSE: MXB), a leading provider of investment decision support tools worldwide, including indices and portfolio risk and performance analytics, announced today an agreement with ClariFI, a Standard & Poor's Capital IQ business and leading provider of research and production workflow software and services, to integrate the Barra Optimizer into ClariFI's ModelStation platform.
Equity portfolio managers using ModelStation will have the option of choosing the Barra Optimizer for their portfolio construction and hedging process. The integration of the Barra Optimizer's innovative optimization techniques and fast, accurate results will help ModelStation users efficiently develop and execute new investment strategies.
"We are delighted that ClariFI has chosen to integrate the Barra Optimizer into ModelStation," said Roveen Bhansali, Managing Director and Head of the Analytics Business at MSCI Barra. "This means that institutional investors can access Barra's industry-leading portfolio analytics in a way that best fits their processes and systems, be it through our proprietary analytics software, integration with their internal systems, or via a third-party platform such as ClariFI."
Gioel Molinari, Founder and Managing Director at ClariFI stated, "We are happy for the opportunity to deepen our relationship with MSCI Barra through this integration. Adding support for the Barra Optimizer will allow existing and new clients to benefit from an expanded set of portfolio construction tools along with ModelStation's comprehensive data integration, alpha research, and production capabilities. This will create significant operational efficiencies and allow for accelerated research throughput."
The two firms expect the Barra Optimizer to be available in ModelStation in early 2009.