MSCI Acquires First Street to Enhance Physical Climate Risk Capabilities for Financial Decision Making

MSCI Inc. is enhancing its global physical climate risk capabilities with the acquisition of First Street, a provider of physics-based climate risk data and analytics.

The integration of First Street’s data and tools into MSCI’s extensive climate and geospatial solutions will enable quantified assessments of financially relevant physical climate risk at any geographic coordinate and across more than 2 billion structures worldwide. These additional capabilities can help institutions meet rising regulatory and reporting requirements while supporting physical risk management and adaptation and resilience planning.

The acquisition strengthens MSCI’s leadership in climate investment tools and research, building on expertise in geospatial intelligence, climate scenario analysis and transition finance to deliver greater transparency, innovation and scalability.

Richard Mattison, Head of Sustainability and Climate at MSCI, said, “The financial consequences of where assets are located have come into sharp focus due to the recent geopolitical turmoil, supply chain disruption and the growing impact of climate hazards. In response, investors, lenders and insurers are increasingly looking for more in-depth and actionable analysis of the physical risk held in the footprint of a company’s operations and investments.”

Matthew Eby, Founder and CEO at First Street, said, “First Street was built on the simple conviction that every financial decision should account for a changing climate. We built the Climate Risk Financial Modeling (CRFM) category to turn that conviction into reality. Joining MSCI puts our property-level science in front of the investors, lenders and insurers and turns climate risk from a disclosure exercise into a daily input for how capital is priced and allocated.”

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