Custom Indexes: The New Frontier in Personalized Investing

CCPI > Khám Phá > Custom Indexes: The New Frontier in Personalized Investing

Custom index services—like those offered by MSCI, Bloomberg, ICE, và Charles Schwab—allow investors, asset managers, and institutions to create tailored benchmarks that reflect specific investment strategies, constraints, or preferences. These services go beyond traditional off-the-shelf indices by offering flexibility, personalization, and strategic alignment.

What Are Customized Index Services?

Customized index services allow institutions or investors to create bespoke benchmarks tailored to specific strategies, values, or constraints. These indexes can be used for:

  • Portfolio benchmarking
  • Product development (e.g., ETFs)
  • Regulatory alignment
  • ESG or thematic investing
  • Tax optimization

Examples of Leading Providers

MSCI Custom Indexes

  • Use Cases: ESG, climate, factor, thematic, multi-asset
  • Tools: F9 platform for design and simulation
  • Clients: Asset owners, active managers, wealth managers
  • Strengths: Deep data, robust governance, scalable infrastructure [msci.com]

Charles Schwab Personalized Indexing

  • Loại: Direct indexing via SMAs
  • Features: Tax-loss harvesting, GICS-based exclusions, daily optimization
  • Minimum Investment: $100,000
  • Fee: Up to 0.25% annually [schwab.com], [schwabasse…gement.com]

Bloomberg Custom Index Solutions

  • Focus: Cross-asset indices, equity, fixed income
  • Customization: Risk, regulation, exclusions, weighting
  • Support: End-to-end index creation, calculation, and governance

BeQ Holdings / IFRC Custom Index Services

Customization Capabilities

  • 60,000+ indexes covering Vietnamese and international markets
  • Index types include:
    • Price Return và Total Return
    • Capitalization Weighted, Free Float Adjusted, Equal Weighted, Factor Weighted
  • Real-time and end-of-day calculations
  • Currency conversion to USD, EUR, JPY for international investors 
  • Indexes classes: 

Specialized Index Families

  • VNX Top 50 FORBES Index – ranks top companies using Forbes methodology
  • VLI Logistics Indexes – sector-specific performance tracking
  • PVN Indexes – tracks PetroVietnam and affiliates, supports capital mobilization and transparency
  • All-Share Indexes – cover entire market segments or industries (e.g., Finance, Technology, Large Caps) [beqholdings.com]

Methodology & Standards

  • Uses ICB (Industry Classification Benchmark) from FTSE for sector classification
  • Designed to meet international standards for transparency, liquidity, and investability
  • Indexes are tradable and can be used for structured products and ETFs [beqholdings.com]

Technology & Tools

  • AI and Big Data integration for predictive analytics
  • CCPI Dashboard Live – tracks index movements and forecasts stock performance
  • Sentiments Indexes: Fear & Greed, Volatility, Imbalances Indexes help retail investors time market entries

Key Features of MSCI Custom Index Services

Tailored Investment Criteria

  • Clients can define unique investment rules (e.g., sector exclusions, ESG factors, factor tilts, regional focus).
  • Useful for aligning with specific mandates, such as ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) goals or regulatory constraints.

Custom Benchmarks

  • Pension funds, asset managers, and institutional investors can create benchmarks that better reflect their investment strategies.
  • Helps in performance evaluation và risk management.

Product Development

  • Custom indices can serve as the foundation for ETFs, mutual funds, structured products, and other investment vehicles.
  • Historical data from custom indices can be used for back-testing strategies.

Operational Efficiency

  • MSCI handles the calculation, maintenance, and dissemination of the index.
  • Clients benefit from MSCI’s infrastructure, which supports over 148,000 indices daily.

Flexible Delivery

  • Data can be delivered daily or monthly, including detailed information like corporate actions, sector weights, and liquidity metrics.

Who Uses Custom Index Services?

  • Pension Funds: To align with long-term liabilities and specific mandates.
  • Nhà Quản Lý Tài Sản: To reflect proprietary strategies or comply with client requirements.
  • ETF Providers: To launch differentiated products.
  • Wealth Managers: To offer personalized portfolios at scale.

Benefits of Custom Indexing

  • Precision: Aligns closely with investment goals.
  • Transparency: Clear rules and methodologies.
  • Scalability: Easily adapted as strategies evolve.
  • Cost Efficiency: Outsourcing index management can reduce internal costs.