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Ashley Lester
Chief Research Officer
Ashley Lester leads the development of MSCI’s research across the company’s wide range of product lines and clients. He was previously the founding head of systematic investments at Schroders, where he led a team managing over USD 30 billion in equity-factor and ESG strategies. Before Schroders, Ashley served as MSCI’s head of fixed-income and multi-asset-class research. He holds a doctorate in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Economics (with first-class honors and the university medal) from the University of Sydney.
Research and Insights
Articles by Ashley Lester
Investment Trends in Focus: Quarterly Roundtable Q2 2024
Podcast | Apr 25, 2024 | Luis O’Shea, Laura Nishikawa, Anil Rao, Ashley LesterOur panel discusses what’s happening in public equity markets, the importance of governance and of sustainable investing more broadly, as well as the growing world of private assets, including private credit and the ways in which these assets might come to resemble their public counterparts more than they do today.
Investment Trends in Focus: Quarterly Roundtable Q1 2024
Podcast | Jan 18, 2024 | Oliver Marchand, Raina Oberoi, Afsaneh Mastouri, Ashley LesterAshley Lester and team help investors find the connections between — and evaluate the risks and potential opportunities of — AI, geopolitics and the effects of climate change, as well as the growing importance of private capital and continued influence of monetary policy.
Investment Trends in Focus: Five Key Themes for 2024
Research Report | Jan 2, 2024 | Ashley LesterAs 2024 begins, researchers across MSCI have identified five market-moving trends investors will be focused on this year. Penned by MSCI’s chief research officer, Ashley Lester explores each theme in detail.
How Canadian Asset Owners Are Seizing Investment Opportunities as Risks Evolve
Blog | Nov 16, 2023 | Henry Fernandez, Ashley Lester, Raman Aylur Subramanian, Chris CoteAttendees at the recent MSCI Canadian Institutional Investor Forum discussed and debated the challenges and opportunities created by massive structural, macroeconomic, societal and technological shifts in the investment landscape.
How Asset Owners Are Preparing for the New Era of Investing
8 mins read Blog | Nov 2, 2023 | Ashley Lester, Raina Oberoi, Andy Sparks, Peter ShepardKey insights from the recent MSCI Institutional Investor Forum highlight how forces of disruption are driving asset owners to evolve their assessment of risks and how developments in AI can further blend quantitative and qualitative investment analysis.