MSCI 10-Q Quarter ended March 31, 2014

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2014

OR

For the transition period from to

Commission file number 001-33812

MSCI INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (212) 804-3900

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes x No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes x No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes ¨ No x

As of April 28, 2014, there were 116,704,758 shares of the registrant’s common stock, par value $0.01, outstanding.

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MSCI INC.

FORM 10-Q

FOR THE QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31, 2014

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AVAILABLE INFORMATION

MSCI Inc. files annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). You may read and copy any document MSCI Inc. files with the SEC at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for information on the public reference room. The SEC maintains a website that contains annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy and information statements and other information that issuers (including MSCI Inc.) file electronically with the SEC. MSCI Inc.’s electronic SEC filings are available to the public at the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov .

MSCI Inc.’s website is www.msci.com . You can access MSCI Inc.’s Investor Relations webpage at http://ir.msci.com . MSCI Inc. makes available free of charge, on or through its Investor Relations webpage, its proxy statements, Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. MSCI Inc. also makes available, through its Investor Relations webpage, via a link to the SEC’s website, statements of beneficial ownership of MSCI Inc.’s equity securities filed by its directors, officers, 5% or greater shareholders and others under Section 16 of the Exchange Act.

MSCI Inc. has a Corporate Governance webpage. You can access information about MSCI Inc.’s corporate governance at http://ir.msci.com/governance.cfm . MSCI Inc. posts the following on its Corporate Governance webpage:

MSCI Inc.’s Code of Ethics and Business Conduct applies to all directors, officers and employees, including its Chief Executive Officer and its Chief Financial Officer. MSCI Inc. will post any amendments to the Code of Ethics and Business Conduct and any waivers that are required to be disclosed by the rules of either the SEC or the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. on its website. You can request a copy of these documents, excluding exhibits, at no cost, by contacting Investor Relations, 7 World Trade Center, 250 Greenwich Street, 49 ^th Floor, New York, NY 10007; (212) 804-1583. The information on MSCI Inc.’s website is not incorporated by reference into this report.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This report may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to future events or to future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause MSCI Inc.’s actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “may,” “could,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “seek,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are, in some cases, beyond MSCI Inc.’s control and that could materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements.

Other factors that could materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements can be found in MSCI Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013 filed with the SEC on February 28, 2014, and in quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if our underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may vary significantly from what MSCI Inc. projected. Any forward-looking statement in this report reflects MSCI Inc.’s current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to MSCI Inc.’s operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. MSCI Inc. assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA DISCLOSURE

MSCI Inc. uses its website and corporate Twitter account (@MSCI_Inc) as channels of distribution of company information. The information MSCI Inc. posts through these channels may be deemed material. Accordingly, investors should monitor these channels, in addition to following MSCI Inc.’s press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. In addition, you may automatically receive email alerts and other information about MSCI Inc. when you enroll your email address by visiting the “Email Alert Subscription” section at http://ir.msci.com/alerts.cfm?. The contents of MSCI Inc.’s website and social media channels are not, however, incorporated by reference into this report.

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MSCI INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

(in thousands, except share and per share data)

See Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

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MSCI INC.

(in thousands, except per share data)

See Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

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MSCI INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(in thousands)

See Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

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MSCI INC.

(in thousands)

See Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

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MSCI INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(UNAUDITED)

1. INTRODUCTION AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

MSCI Inc. together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries (the “Company” or “MSCI”) is a global provider of investment decision support tools, including indexes, portfolio risk and performance analytics. The Company’s flagship products are its global equity indexes and environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) products marketed under the MSCI and MSCI ESG Research brands, its private real estate benchmarks marketed under the IPD brand, its portfolio risk and performance analytics covering global equity and fixed income markets marketed under the Barra brand, its market and credit risk analytics marketed under the RiskMetrics and Barra brands, its performance reporting products and services offered to the investment consultant community marketed under the InvestorForce brand and its valuation models and risk management software for the energy and commodities markets marketed under the FEA brand.

On March 17, 2014, MSCI entered into a definitive agreement to sell Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”). As a result, the Company reported the operating results of ISS in “Income from discontinued operations, net of income taxes” in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013. In addition, the assets and liabilities associated with ISS are reported as “Assets held for sale” and “Liabilities held for sale,” respectively, in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Condition as of March 31, 2014 (see Note 3, “Discontinued Operations,” for additional details). As a result of this change, the Company now operates as one segment. Unless otherwise indicated, the disclosures accompanying these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements reflect the Company’s continuing operations.

Basis of Presentation and Use of Estimates

These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of MSCI Inc. and its subsidiaries and include all adjustments of a normal, recurring nature necessary to present fairly the financial condition as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, the results of operations and comprehensive income for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 and cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes included in MSCI’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statement information as of December 31, 2013 has been derived from the 2013 audited consolidated financial statements. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results for the entire year.

The Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). These accounting principles require the Company to make certain estimates and judgments that can affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the periods presented. Significant estimates and assumptions made by management include the deferral and recognition of revenue, research and development and software capitalization, the allowance for doubtful accounts, impairment of long-lived assets, accrued compensation, income taxes and other matters that affect the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. The Company believes that estimates used in the preparation of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements are reasonable; however, actual results could differ materially from these estimates.

Intercompany balances and transactions are eliminated in consolidation. Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year financial statement presentation.

Concentrations

Financial instruments that may potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash deposits and short-term investments. At March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, cash and cash equivalent amounts were $260.5 million and $358.4 million, respectively. The Company held no short-term investments at March 31, 2014 or December 31, 2013. The Company receives interest at prevailing money market fund rates on its cash deposits.

For the three months ended March 31, 2014, BlackRock, Inc. accounted for 10.4% of the Company’s operating revenues. For the three months ended March 31, 2013, no single customer accounted for 10.0% or more of the Company’s operating revenues.

2. RECENT ACCOUNTING STANDARDS UPDATES

In July 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2013-11, “Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists,” or ASU 2013-11. The amendments in this update require that an unrecognized tax benefit, or a portion of an unrecognized tax benefit, be presented in the financial statements as a reduction to a deferred tax asset for a net operating loss

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carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward, except under a few limited circumstances. The amendments in this update do not require new recurring disclosures. This new guidance is to be applied prospectively for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2013. The adoption of ASU 2013-11 did not have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

In April 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-08, “Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205) and Property, Plant, and Equipment (Topic 360): Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity,” or ASU 2014-08. The amendments in this update change the requirements for reporting discontinued operations under ASC Subtopic 205-20, “Presentation of Financial Statements – Discontinued Operations ,” such as limiting discontinued operations reporting to disposals of components of an entity that represent strategic shifts that have (or will have) a major effect on an entity’s operations and financial results. The amendments in this update also require expanded disclosures in order to provide users of financial statements with more information about the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of discontinued operations. Further, the amendments require an entity to disclose the pretax profit or loss of an individually significant component of an entity that does not qualify for discontinued operations reporting. This new guidance is to be applied prospectively for annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2014, and interim periods within those years, with early adoption permitted. The Company has elected not to early adopt ASU 2014-08 and is still evaluating the potential impact that the update will have on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

3. DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS

On March 17, 2014, MSCI entered into a definitive agreement to sell ISS. MSCI determined that ISS became a long-lived asset held for sale during the three months ended March 31, 2014. A long-lived asset classified as held for sale is measured at the lower of its carrying amount or fair value less cost to sell. Since the carrying value of ISS at March 31, 2014 was less than the estimated fair value less cost to sell, no adjustment to the carrying value of this long-lived asset was necessary at that date.

ISS was classified as a discontinued operation during the three months ended March 31, 2014, and therefore MSCI has segregated the operating results of ISS, together with the CFRA product line that was disposed of in March 2013, in “Income from discontinued operations, net of income taxes” in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013. The assets of ISS have been reclassified to “Assets held for sale” and the liabilities have been reclassified to “Liabilities held for sale” in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Condition as of March 31, 2014.

The carrying amounts of the major classes of assets and liabilities of ISS were as follows:

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Net Income from Discontinued Operations. The activity associated with the discontinuation of ISS is as follows:

4. RECLASSIFICATIONS OUT OF ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

As required by FASB’s Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Subtopic 220-10, “ Comprehensive Income—Overall ,” the following table presents the amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) by the respective line item in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income:

Reclassifications Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) ⁽¹⁾

(in thousands)

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5. EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE

Basic earnings per share (“EPS”) is computed by dividing income available to MSCI common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Common shares outstanding include common stock and vested restricted stock unit awards where recipients have satisfied either the explicit vesting terms or retirement-eligible requirements. Diluted EPS reflects the assumed conversion of all dilutive securities. There were 104,272 stock options excluded from the calculation of diluted EPS for the three months ended March 31, 2014, because of their anti-dilutive effect. There were no anti-dilutive securities excluded from the calculation of diluted EPS for the three months ended March 31, 2013.

The Company computes EPS using the two-class method and determines whether instruments granted in share-based payment transactions are participating securities. The following table presents the computation of basic and diluted EPS:

6. PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT AND LEASEHOLD IMPROVEMENTS

Property, equipment and leasehold improvements at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 consisted of the following:

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Depreciation and amortization expense of property, equipment and leasehold improvements was $5.8 million and $4.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

7. GOODWLL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Goodwill

The Company carries goodwill reflected in the table below:

Intangible Assets

Amortization expense related to intangible assets for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 was $11.3 million and $11.2 million, respectively.

The gross carrying amounts and accumulated amortization totals related to the Company’s identifiable intangible assets are as follows:

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The estimated amortization expense for succeeding years is presented below:

8. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Legal matters. From time to time, the Company is party to various litigation matters incidental to the conduct of its business. The Company is not presently party to any legal proceedings the resolution of which the Company believes would have a material effect on its business, operating results, financial condition or cash flows.

Leases. The Company leases facilities under non-cancelable operating lease agreements. The terms of certain lease agreements provide for rental payments on a graduated basis. The Company recognizes rent expense on the straight-line basis over the lease period and has accrued for rent expense incurred but not paid. Rent expense for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 was $6.3 million and $5.2 million, respectively.

Share repurchase. On December 13, 2012, the Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase program authorizing the purchase of up to $300.0 million worth of shares of MSCI’s common stock beginning immediately and continuing through December 31, 2014 (the “2012 Repurchase Program”).

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On December 13, 2012, as part of the 2012 Repurchase Program, the Company entered into an accelerated share repurchase (“ASR”) agreement with a financial institution to initiate a repurchase aggregating $100.0 million (the “December 2012 ASR Program”). As a result of the December 2012 ASR Program, the Company received 2.2 million shares on December 14, 2012 and 0.8 million shares on July 31, 2013 for a combined average purchase price of $33.47 per share.

On August 1, 2013, MSCI entered into a second ASR agreement to initiate share repurchases aggregating $100.0 million (the “August 2013 ASR Program”). As a result of the August 2013 ASR Program, the Company received 1.9 million shares on August 2, 2013 and 0.5 million shares on December 30, 2013 for a combined average purchase price of $41.06 per share.

On February 6, 2014, MSCI utilized the remaining repurchase authorization provided by the 2012 Repurchase Program by entering into a new ASR agreement to initiate share repurchases aggregating $100.0 million (the “February 2014 ASR Program”). The February 2014 ASR Program is structured as a capped ASR in which, on February 7, 2014, the Company paid $100.0 million and received 1.7 million shares, representing the minimum number of common shares to be repurchased based on a calculation using a specific capped price per share. This price is capped such that only under limited circumstances may the Company be required to deliver shares or pay cash at settlement. The Company anticipates that all repurchases under the February 2014 ASR Program will be completed no later than the final repurchase date in May 2014, although settlement may be accelerated under certain circumstances. Additionally, depending on the average share price through the completion date in May 2014, the Company may receive additional shares under the February 2014 ASR Program.

The $100.0 million payment was initially split and recorded as a $70.0 million increase to “Treasury stock” and a $30.0 million decrease to “Additional paid in capital” on the Company’s Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Condition to reflect the initial estimate of the value of shares received.

On February 4, 2014, the Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase program authorizing the purchase of up to $300.0 million worth of shares of MSCI’s common stock which will be available from time to time at management’s discretion (the “2014 Repurchase Program”). The 2014 Repurchase Program may be modified, suspended or terminated by the Company at any time without prior notice.

On March 14, 2011, the Company completed the repricing of the 2010 Credit Facility pursuant to Amendment No. 2 to the 2010 Credit Facility (“Amendment No. 2”). Amendment No. 2 provided for the incurrence of a new senior secured term loan (the “2011 Term Loan”). The proceeds of the 2011 Term Loan, together with cash on hand, were used to repay the remaining outstanding balance of the 2010 Term Loan in full. The 2011 Term Loan was to mature in March 2017.

On May 4, 2012, the Company amended and restated its 2010 Credit Facility (the credit agreement as so amended and restated, the “Amended and Restated Credit Facility”). The Amended and Restated Credit Facility provides for the incurrence of a new senior secured five-year Term Loan A Facility in an aggregate amount of $880.0 million (the “2012 Term Loan”) and a $100.0 million senior secured revolving facility (the “2012 Revolving Credit Facility”). The proceeds of the Amended and Restated Credit Facility, together with cash on hand, were used to repay the remaining outstanding principal of the then-existing 2011 Term Loan. The 2012 Term Loan and the 2012 Revolving Credit Facility were scheduled to mature on May 4, 2017.

The Amended and Restated Credit Facility also amended certain negative covenants, including financial covenants.

In March 2013, the Company made a $15.0 million prepayment on the 2012 Term Loan.

On December 12, 2013, the Company entered into an agreement that extended the maturity of the Amended and Restated Credit Facility from May 2017 to December 2018 (“New Amended and Restated Credit Facility”). The Company also amended the amortization schedule of required debt payments under the 2012 Term Loan. Pursuant to the New Amended and Restated Credit Facility, the Company is required to repay $5.1 million in quarterly payments over the first two years and $10.1 million in quarterly payments over the following three years, with the exception of the final payment in December 2018, which will be $658.1 million (assuming no further prepayments).

The 2012 Term Loan bears interest equal to LIBOR plus a margin. As of March 31, 2014, the 2012 Term Loan bore interest at LIBOR plus a margin of 2.00%, or 2.15%.

Current maturities of long-term debt at March 31, 2014 were $19.8 million, net of a $0.5 million discount. Long-term debt, net of current maturities at March 31, 2014 was $783.1 million, net of a $1.6 million discount.

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Current maturities of long-term debt at December 31, 2013 were $19.8 million, net of a $0.5 million discount. Long-term debt, net of current maturities at December 31, 2013 was $788.0 million, net of a $1.7 million discount.

In connection with entering into the New Amended and Restated Credit Facility, certain fees were paid and are being amortized over the life of the New Amended and Restated Credit Facility. At March 31, 2014, $7.9 million of the deferred financing fees remain unamortized, $1.8 million of which is included in “Prepaid and other assets” and $6.1 million of which is included in “Other non-current assets” on the Company’s Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Condition.

The Company amortized $0.4 million and $0.8 million of deferred financing fees in interest expense during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Approximately $0.1 million and $0.2 million of debt discount was amortized in interest expense during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

At March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, the fair market value of the Company’s debt obligations were $806.9 million and $812.0 million, respectively. The Company utilizes the market approach and obtains security pricing from a vendor who uses broker quotes and third-party pricing services to determine fair values.

As of March 31, 2014, the Company’s retained earnings of $850.7 million were restricted as to the payments of dividends. As outlined in the New Amended and Restated Credit Facility, the Company cannot pay or declare any dividends except out of amounts available for restricted payments. As of March 31, 2014, the amount available for restricted payments was $482.0 million, reflecting the Company’s cumulative retained excess cash flows (“CRECF”), as defined in the New Amended and Restated Credit Facility, through December 31, 2013 and adjusted for, among other things, any restricted payments made during the three months ended March 31, 2014. To the extent the CRECF is utilized for other actions restricted under the New Amended and Restated Credit Facility, including stock repurchases, the amount available for restricted payments will be reduced.

Derivatives and Hedging Activities. The Company is exposed to certain risks arising from both its business operations and economic conditions. The Company principally manages its exposures to a wide variety of business and operational risks through management of its core business activities. The Company manages economic risks, including interest rate, liquidity, and credit risk primarily by managing the amount, sources, and duration of its debt funding and the use of derivative financial instruments. Specifically, the Company had previously entered into derivative financial instruments to manage exposures that arose from business activities that result in the receipt or payment of future known and uncertain cash amounts, the value of which are determined by interest rates, and may do so again in the future. The Company’s derivative financial instruments were used to manage differences in the amount, timing and duration of the Company’s known or expected cash payments principally related to the Company’s borrowings.

Certain of the Company’s foreign operations expose the Company to fluctuations of foreign exchange rates. These fluctuations may impact the value of the Company’s cash receipts and payments in terms of the Company’s functional currency, the U.S. dollar. The Company enters into derivative financial instruments to protect the value or fix the amount of certain obligations in terms of its functional currency.

Cash Flow Hedges of Interest Rate Risk. As a result of the repayment of the 2011 Term Loan on May 4, 2012 and the 2010 Term Loan on March 14, 2011, the Company discontinued prospective hedge accounting on its then-existing interest rate swaps as they no longer met hedge accounting requirements. The Company has not entered into new interest rate swaps to hedge its debt and it is not required to do so under the New Amended and Restated Credit Facility. The Company continued to report the net loss related to the discontinued cash flow hedges in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) and reclassified this amount into earnings through the contractual term of the swap agreements which ended in August 2013.

Non-designated Hedges of Foreign Exchange Risk. Derivatives not designated as hedges are not speculative and are used to manage the Company’s exposure to foreign exchange rate movements but do not meet the strict hedge accounting requirements. Changes in the fair value of derivatives not designated in hedging relationships are recorded directly in earnings. As of March 31, 2014, the Company had two outstanding foreign currency forwards with a combined notional amount of $27.5 million that were not designated as hedges in qualifying hedging relationships.

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The following table presents the fair values of the Company’s derivative instruments and the location in which they are presented on the Company’s Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition:

The following tables present the effect of the Company’s financial derivatives and the location in which they are presented on the Company’s Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition and Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income:

9. FAIR VALUE MEASURES

The following table summarizes the Company’s financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of March 31, 2014:

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The Company did not hold any financial assets as of December 31, 2013. The following table summarizes the Company’s financial liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2013:

The Company’s financial assets and liabilities are valued using market prices on both active markets (Level 1) and less active markets (Level 2). The Company did not have any transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 fair value measurements during the periods presented. The Company does not hold any financial instruments that would be valued using Level 3 inputs as of the periods presented.

The Company’s foreign exchange forward contracts were classified within Level 2, as they were valued using pricing models that took into account the contract terms as well as multiple observable inputs where applicable, such as prevailing spot rates and forward points.

10. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

The Company sponsors a 401(k) plan for eligible U.S. employees and defined contribution and defined benefit pension plans that cover substantially all of its non-U.S. employees. Costs relating to 401(k), pension and post-retirement benefit expenses were $7.3 million and $5.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Amounts included in cost of services were $4.2 million and $3.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Amounts included in selling, general and administrative expense related to pension and post-retirement expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 were $3.1 million and $2.5 million, respectively.

401(k) and Other Defined Contribution Plans. Eligible employees may participate in the MSCI 401(k) plan (or any other regional defined contribution plan sponsored by MSCI) immediately upon hire. Eligible employees receive 401(k) and other defined contribution plan matching contributions and, in the case of the MSCI 401(k) plan, an additional Company contribution of 3% of the employees’ cash compensation, which is subject to vesting and certain other limitations. The Company’s expenses associated with the 401(k) plan and other defined contribution plans were $6.7 million and $5.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Net Periodic Benefit Expense. Net periodic benefit expense related to defined benefit pension plans was $0.6 million in each of the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013.

11. INCOME TAXES

The Company’s provision for income taxes was $26.4 million and $21.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. These amounts reflect effective tax rates of 35.9% and 28.6% for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

The effective rate of 35.9% for the three months ended March 31, 2014 reflects the Company’s estimate of the effective tax rate for the period and is impacted by certain discrete items totaling $0.2 million, the effect of which was to decrease the Company’s effective tax rate by 0.2 percentage points. The effective rate of 28.6% for the three months ended March 31, 2013 reflects the Company’s estimate of the effective tax rate for the period and is impacted by certain discrete items totaling $3.9 million, the effect of which was to decrease the Company’s effective tax rate by 5.3 percentage points.

The Company is under examination by the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities in certain countries, such as the United Kingdom, and states in which the Company has significant business operations, such as New York. The tax years currently under examination vary by jurisdiction. As a result of having previously been a member of the Morgan Stanley consolidated group, the Company may have future settlements with Morgan Stanley related to the ultimate disposition of their New York State and New York City examination relating to the tax years 2007 through 2008 and their IRS examination relating to the tax years 2006 through 2008. The Company does not believe it has any material exposure for the New York State and New York City examination. Additionally, the Company believes it has adequate reserves for any tax issues that may arise out of the IRS examination relating to the tax years 2006 through 2008 and therefore does not believe any related settlement with Morgan Stanley will have a material impact.

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The Company regularly assesses the likelihood of additional assessments in each of the taxing jurisdictions in which it files income tax returns. The Company has established unrecognized tax benefits that the Company believes are adequate in relation to the potential for additional assessments. Once established, the Company adjusts unrecognized tax benefits only when more information is available or when an event occurs necessitating a change. As part of the Company’s periodic review of unrecognized tax benefits and based on new information regarding the status of federal and state examinations, the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits were remeasured. It is reasonably possible that significant changes in the balance of unrecognized tax benefits may occur within the next 12 months. At this time, however, it is not possible to reasonably estimate the expected change to the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits and the impact on the effective tax rate over the next 12 months.

The following table summarizes the major taxing jurisdictions in which the Company and its affiliates operate and the open tax years for each major jurisdiction:

12. SEGMENT INFORMATION

Prior to March 31, 2014, MSCI operated as two segments, the Performance and Risk business and the Governance business. These designations were made as the discrete operating results of these segments were reviewed by the Company’s CODM for purposes of making operating decisions and assessing financial performance.

On March 17, 2014, MSCI entered into a definitive agreement to sell ISS, which, together with the previously disposed of CFRA product line, made up the Company’s Governance segment and are now reflected in “Income from discontinued operations, net of income taxes” in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. As a result, the Company now operates and reports as a single business segment (see Note 3, “Discontinued Operations,” and Note 13, “Acquisitions and Dispositions,” for further details).

Revenue by geography is based on the shipping address of the customer. The following table sets forth revenue for the periods indicated by geographic area:

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Long-lived assets consist of property, equipment, leasehold improvements, goodwill and intangible assets, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization.

The following table sets forth long-lived assets on the dates indicated by geographic area:

13. ACQUISITIONS AND DISPOSITIONS

The method of accounting is based on ASC Subtopic 805-10, “Business Combinations,” and uses the fair value concepts defined in ASC Subtopic 820-10, “ Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, ” which the Company has adopted as required. The total purchase price is allocated to the net tangible and intangible assets based upon their fair values as of the acquisition dates. The excess of the purchase price over the fair values of the net tangible assets and intangible assets was recorded as goodwill. The allocation of the purchase price was based upon a valuation and is subject to change within the one-year measurement period following the acquisition. MSCI expects to continue to obtain information to assist it in determining the fair value of the net assets acquired at the acquisition date during the measurement period.

Acquisition of InvestorForce

On January 29, 2013, MSCI completed the acquisition of Investor Force Holdings, Inc. (“InvestorForce”) by paying $23.6 million in cash. The acquisition of InvestorForce enhances MSCI’s position as a leader in performance analysis and risk transparency and furthers its goal of providing investment decision support tools to institutional investors across all client segments and asset classes. InvestorForce is a leading provider of performance reporting solutions to the institutional investment community in the United States, providing investment consultants with an integrated solution for daily monitoring, analysis of and reporting on institutional assets. InvestorForce was deemed to not be a significant acquisition and, therefore, no pro forma financial results have been presented.

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The final purchase price allocations for the InvestorForce acquisition were $11.6 million for goodwill, $9.1 million for identifiable intangible assets, $6.4 million for assets other than identifiable intangible assets and $3.5 million for other liabilities.

Disposition of CFRA

On March 31, 2013, MSCI completed the sale of its CFRA product line, which was a component of the Governance segment. The results of operations from the CFRA product line and the sale of CFRA were not material to the Company.

Disposition of ISS

On March 17, 2014, MSCI entered into a definitive agreement to sell ISS. The sale of ISS was completed on April 30, 2014 for approximately $367.4 million, subject to final working capital adjustments. The Company does not expect to incur a cash tax liability on the proceeds from the sale (see Note 3, “Discontinued Operations,” for additional details). The Company expects to record a net gain on the sale, which will be reflected in “Income from discontinued operations, net of income taxes” in the Company’s Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income in the quarter ending June 30, 2014.

The results of operations from ISS and the CFRA product line are now reflected in “Income from discontinued operations, net of income taxes” in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income.

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of MSCI Inc.

We have reviewed the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet of MSCI Inc. and its subsidiaries as of March 31, 2014, and the related condensed consolidated statements of income and of comprehensive income for the three month period ended March 31, 2014 and the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows for the three month period ended March 31, 2014. These interim financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management.

We conducted our review in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). A review of interim financial information consists principally of applying analytical procedures and making inquiries of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters. It is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the objective of which is the expression of an opinion regarding the financial statements taken as a whole. Accordingly, we do not express such an opinion.

Based on our review, we are not aware of any material modifications that should be made to the accompanying condensed consolidated interim financial statements for them to be in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of MSCI Inc.:

We have reviewed the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income and cash flows of MSCI Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) for the three month period ended March 31, 2013. These interim financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management.

We conducted our review in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). A review of interim financial information consists principally of applying analytical procedures and making inquiries of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters. It is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the objective of which is the expression of an opinion regarding the financial statements taken as a whole. Accordingly, we do not express such an opinion.

Based on our review, we are not aware of any material modifications that should be made to such condensed consolidated interim financial statements for them to be in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

We have previously audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated statement of financial condition of MSCI Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2013 and the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, shareholders’ equity and cash flows for the fiscal year then ended prior to reclassification for the discontinued operations (not presented herein); and in our report dated February 28, 2014, we expressed an unqualified opinion on those consolidated financial statements. In our opinion, the information set forth in the accompanying condensed consolidated statement of financial condition as of December 31, 2013 is fairly stated, in all material respects, in relation to the consolidated statement of financial condition from which it has been derived.

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

New York, New York

February 28, 2014 (May 2, 2014 as to the effects of the discontinued operations as discussed in Note 3)

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The following discussion and analysis of the financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Form 10-Q and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013 (the “Form 10-K”). This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed below. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified below and those discussed in “Item 1A.—Risk Factors,” in our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013.

Overview

We are a leading global provider of investment decision support tools, including indexes, portfolio risk and performance analytics. Our products and services address multiple markets, asset classes and geographies and are sold to a diverse client base, including asset owners such as pension funds, endowments, foundations, central banks, family offices and insurance companies; institutional and retail asset managers, such as managers of pension assets, mutual funds, exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), real estate, hedge funds and private wealth; financial intermediaries such as banks, broker-dealers, exchanges, custodians and investment consultants; and corporate clients. As of March 31, 2014, we had offices related to continuing operations in 34 cities in 22 countries in order to help serve our diverse client base, with 50.1% of our revenue from clients in the Americas, 37.0% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”) and 12.9% in Asia and Australia based on revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2014.

Our principal sales model is to license annual, recurring subscriptions to our products and services for use at specified locations, often by a given number of users or for a certain volume of services for an annual fee paid up front. Additionally, our recurring subscriptions are increasingly related to our managed services offering whereby we oversee the production of risk and performance reports on behalf of our clients. Fees attributable to annual, recurring subscriptions are recorded as deferred revenues on our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Condition and are recognized on our Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Income as the service is rendered. Additionally, a portion of our revenues come from clients who use our indexes as the basis for index-linked investment products such as ETFs or as the basis for passively managed funds and separate accounts. These clients commonly pay us a license fee for the use of our intellectual property based on the investment product’s assets. We generate a limited amount of our revenues from certain exchanges that use our indexes as the basis for futures and options contracts and pay us a license fee for the use of our intellectual property based on their volume of trades. We also receive revenues from one-time fees related to implementation, historical or customized reports, advisory and consulting services and from certain products and services that are designed for one-time usage.

In evaluating our financial performance, we focus on revenue growth for the Company in total and by product category as well as operating profit growth. In addition, we focus on operating metrics, including Run Rates and retention rates to manage the business. Our business is not highly capital intensive and, as such, we expect to continue to convert a high percentage of our operating profits into excess cash in the future. Our revenue growth strategy includes: (a) expanding and deepening our relationships with investment institutions worldwide; (b) developing new and enhancing existing product offerings, including combining existing product features or data derived from our products to create new products; and (c) actively seeking to acquire products, technologies and companies that will enhance, complement or expand our client base and our product offerings.

To maintain and accelerate our revenue and operating income growth, we expect to continue to invest in and expand our operating functions and infrastructure, including additional product management, sales and client support staff and facilities in locations around the world and additional staff and supporting technology for our research and our data operations and technology functions. At the same time, managing and controlling our operating expenses is very important to us and a distinct part of our culture.

The purpose of these investments is to maximize our medium-term revenue and operating income growth, while at the same time ensuring that we will remain a leading provider of investment decision support tools into the future. As a result, the rate of growth of our investments may from time to time exceed that of our revenues, which would slow the growth of, or even reduce, our operating profit. For example, for the three months ended March 31, 2014, our revenues grew by 9.2% but our operating income decreased by 4.1% compared to 2013 due, in part, to increased investment in our business. We anticipate that our increases in spending in areas such as sales, client service, information technology and product development in 2014 will continue to exceed the rate of growth of our revenues and will again slow the growth of our operating profit. However, we believe these investments will result in higher revenue and operating profit growth over the medium-term.

Changes in Presentation

On March 17, 2014, we entered into a definitive agreement to sell Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) which, together with the previously disposed of CFRA product line, made up our Governance segment. The sale of ISS was completed on April 30, 2014 for approximately $367.4 million, subject to final working capital adjustments. As a result, we now operate as a single business segment and the operating results of ISS and the CFRA product line are reported as discontinued operations for all periods presented. Prior to March 31, 2014, we operated under two segments: the Performance and Risk business and the Governance business. Our Performance and Risk business is a leading global provider of investment decision support tools, including indexes and portfolio risk and performance analytics, credit analytics and environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) products. Our Governance business was a leading provider of corporate governance products and services and specialized financial research and analysis services to institutional investors and corporations around the world.

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In addition, we had previously reported energy and commodity analytics products separately as its own product category for disclosures related to operating revenues, Run Rate and Aggregate and Core Retention Rates. Beginning with the three months ended March 31, 2014, we reported the results of energy and commodity analytics products as part of the risk management analytics product category as we view the product offerings and customer base of energy and commodity analytics products to be similar in nature to those in the risk management analytics product category. Prior periods have also been presented to reflect this change in categorization.

Factors Affecting the Comparability of Results

Term Loan Repricing

On June 1, 2010, we entered into a senior secured credit agreement comprised of (i) a six-year term loan facility (the “2010 Term Loan”) and (ii) a five-year revolving credit facility (the “2010 Revolving Credit Facility,” together with the 2010 Term Loan, the “2010 Credit Facility”).

On March 14, 2011, we completed the repricing of the 2010 Credit Facility pursuant to Amendment No. 2 to the 2010 Credit Facility (“Amendment No. 2”). Amendment No. 2 provided for the incurrence of a new senior secured term loan (the “2011 Term Loan”). The proceeds of the 2011 Term Loan, together with cash on hand, were used to repay the remaining outstanding balance of the 2010 Term Loan in full. The 2011 Term Loan would have matured in March 2017.

On May 4, 2012, we amended and restated our 2010 Credit Facility (the credit agreement as so amended and restated, the “Amended and Restated Credit Facility”). The Amended and Restated Credit Facility provided for the incurrence of a new senior secured five-year Term Loan A Facility in an aggregate amount of $880.0 million (the “2012 Term Loan”) and a $100.0 million senior secured revolving facility (the “2012 Revolving Credit Facility”). The proceeds of the Amended and Restated Credit Facility, together with cash on hand, were used to repay the remaining outstanding principal of the then-existing 2011 Term Loan. Prior to the amendment to the Amended and Restated Credit Facility discussed below, the 2012 Term Loan and the 2012 Revolving Credit Facility were to mature on May 4, 2017.

At March 31, 2014, the 2012 Term Loan bore interest of LIBOR plus 2.00%, or 2.15%.

Share Repurchase

On December 13, 2012, the Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase program authorizing the purchase of up to $300.0 million worth of shares of MSCI’s common stock beginning immediately and continuing through the year ended December 31, 2014 (the “2012 Repurchase Program”).

On December 13, 2012, as part of the 2012 Repurchase Program, we entered into an accelerated share repurchase (“ASR”) agreement with a financial institution to initiate a repurchase aggregating $100.0 million (the “December 2012 ASR Program”). As a result of the December 2012 ASR Program, we received 2.2 million shares on December 14, 2012 and 0.8 million shares on July 31, 2013 for a combined average purchase price of $33.47 per share.

On August 1, 2013, we entered into a second ASR agreement to initiate share repurchases aggregating $100.0 million (the “August 2013 ASR Program”). As a result of the August 2013 ASR Program, we received 1.9 million shares on August 2, 2013 and 0.5 million shares on December 30, 2013 for a combined average purchase price of $41.06 per share.

On February 6, 2014, we utilized the remaining repurchase authorization provided by the 2012 Repurchase Program by entering into a new ASR agreement to initiate share repurchases aggregating $100.0 million (the “February 2014 ASR Program”). The February 2014 ASR Program is structured as a capped ASR in which, on February 7, 2014, we paid $100.0 million and received 1.7 million shares, representing the minimum number of common shares to be repurchased based on a calculation using a specific capped price per share. This price is capped such that only under limited circumstances may we be required to deliver shares or pay cash at settlement. We anticipate that all repurchases under the February 2014 ASR Program will be completed no later than the final repurchase date in May 2014, although settlement may be accelerated under certain circumstances. Additionally, depending on the average share price through the completion date in May 2014, we may receive additional shares under the February 2014 ASR Program.

The discussion of our results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 are presented below. The results of operations for interim periods may not be indicative of future results.

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Three Months Ended March 31, 2014 Compared to the Three Months Ended March 31, 2013

Results of Operations

The following table presents the results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013: