MSCI Inc, a provider of decision support tools and services for hedge funds and the wider investment community, has appointed Ashley Lester as global head of research and a member of MSCI’s Executive Committee. Based in London, Lester will report to Baer Pettit, President.
MSCI Inc, a provider of decision support tools and services for hedge funds and the wider investment community, has appointed Ashley Lester as global head of research and a member of MSCI’s Executive Committee. Based in London, Lester will report to Baer Pettit, President.
In his new role, Lester will be responsible for the development of MSCI’s research across the firm’s product lines and client segments of asset managers, asset owners, banks, corporates, hedge funds, insurance companies, and wealth managers. He will partner closely with MSCI’s product, client coverage, technology, and marketing teams to ensure the continued development of innovative research, analysis, and solutions that aim to help investors navigate a rapidly transforming investment landscape.
Lester joins MSCI with over a decade of extensive experience in business leadership, investment management, and multi-asset class investment research. Previously, he spent eight years at Schroders plc in London, most recently as the founding head of systematic investments, in which he led a team managing over $20 billion in equity factor and ESG strategies. He had previously served in Schroders’ Multi-Asset Investment Group as head of multi-asset research, leading research into portfolio construction, asset allocation modelling, and capital market assumptions.
Before Schroders, Lester spent two years at MSCI as the head of fixed income and multi-asset class research, where he managed MSCI’s global team of researchers covering fixed income, multi-asset class modelling, and valuation, driving the research agenda for MSCI’s market-leading risk solutions.
