Breadcrumb
Extended Viewer

Hitendra D Varsani
Executive Director, MSCI Research
About the Contributor
Hitendra D Varsani is an Executive Director and Factor Strategist. Previously, Hitendra was Head of the Quantitative and Derivative Strategies team for EMEA and Asia at Morgan Stanley, where he led the development of a suite of investable global factor-based index strategies across asset classes. Hitendra holds a degree in mathematics and computer science from Kings College London, and a Masters in mathematical finance from Imperial College London.
HTML Displayer Portlet
Blog posts by Hitendra D Varsani
Extended-lister
-
BLOG
How Are High-ESG-Rated Bond Portfolios Distinct?
Feb 5, 2021 Hitendra D Varsani , Rohit Mendiratta , Guido GieseESG investing makes up an increasingly large footprint in equity portfolios, but ESG integration in bond portfolios is still in its early days. We examine the characteristics that make high-ESG-rated corporate-bond portfolios distinct.
-
BLOG
Factors in Focus: Val-come Back! Shifting Factors as the Cycle Turns
Jan 6, 2021 Hitendra D Varsani , Waman VirgaonkarIn this two-year-anniversary edition of Factors in Focus, we reflect on the historical relationships between factor returns and macro cycles, which have provided useful information for investors looking to take an active stance on factor exposures based on their outlook.
-
BLOG
What ESG Ratings Tell Us About Corporate Bonds
Nov 11, 2020 Rohit Mendiratta , Hitendra D Varsani , Guido GieseHow did incorporating ESG factors affect the performance of corporate-bond portfolios? Did ESG add insights beyond credit ratings? How did ESG impact risk and performance of investment-grade and high-yield bonds? Short-dated versus long-dated bonds?
-
BLOG
Factors in Focus: Impact of Inflation on Style Factors
Oct 2, 2020 Hitendra D Varsani , Waman VirgaonkarGlobal equities continued to rally in Q3, brushing aside fear of a second wave of COVID-19 and a large economic slump. We review what it meant from an equity and fixed-income factor perspective and look at what our models showed headed into Q4
-
BLOG
Corporate Bonds Through a Factor and ESG Lens
Jul 20, 2020 Rohit Mendiratta , Hitendra D VarsaniCOVID-19 has had a profound impact on how companies manage cash flows and liquidity. Bond investors face the possibility of increased leverage, rating downgrades and defaults. Can factors and ESG metrics shed light on these risks?
-
BLOG
Factors in Focus: How Trendy Is Your Style Factor?
Jul 6, 2020 Hitendra D Varsani , Waman Virgaonkar , Rohit MendirattaAs markets rallied worldwide, investors took on high-beta exposure and rotated away from stocks with lower risk. The latest edition of Factors in Focus explores the details.
-
BLOG
Using Derivatives to Manage Volatile Markets
May 4, 2020 Hitendra D Varsani , Rohit MendirattaWe’ve previously noted growth in derivatives contracts to manage emerging-markets exposure in normal and stressed times. Now, facing a real-world stress test, how did investors use these tools? How have implied volatilities and option premium changed?
-
BLOG
Corporate-bond performance by factors and ESG
Apr 14, 2020 Rohit Mendiratta , Hitendra D VarsaniThe volatility seen in equity markets was also present among investment-grade corporate bonds,. We use factors and ESG ratings to dissect these bonds’ performance over Q1 2020.
-
BLOG
Factors in Focus: Risk sentiment and factor dynamics in a crisis
Apr 2, 2020 Hitendra D Varsani , Rohit Mendiratta , Waman VirgaonkarWe analyzed the market effects from COVID-19 and a Saudi Arabia/Russia oil-price war. We also examined – for the first time – credit factor performance. How did the quarter play out? What did our adaptive multi-factor model show as it ended?
-
BLOG
Did corporate-credit factors offer a risk-return edge?
Jan 24, 2020 Rohit Mendiratta , Hitendra D VarsaniFactors have gained popularity in equity investing for providing insight into the key drivers of portfolio risk and returns. Did tilting hypothetical fixed-income portfolios toward some bond-specific factors benefit investors?
-
BLOG
Factors in Focus: Will 2020 vision sharpen exposures?
Jan 6, 2020 Hitendra D Varsani , Waman VirgaonkarSome global equity markets reached all-time highs and experienced limited bouts of volatility over the course of 2019. But underneath the calm surface, we saw a high degree of dispersion among factors and sectors.
-
Emerging-market (EM) equities have delivered unique risk and return characteristics over the last 30 years. Are futures on EM stocks a liquid enough means to gain exposure during normal and stressed conditions?
-
BLOG
Factors in Focus: Momentum hits a valuation speed bump
Oct 3, 2019 Hitendra D Varsani , Waman VirgaonkarThe momentum-value spread saw one of the largest corrections in history over the summer. What does our model show going forward?
-
BLOG
Using multi-country multi-currency futures in portfolio management
Sep 3, 2019 Hitendra D VarsaniInvestors seeking to more tightly manage their exposures to regional or global benchmarks are turning to multi-country multi-currency futures.
-
BLOG
Factors in Focus: Dynamic short term, strategic long term
Jul 2, 2019 Hitendra D Varsani , Waman VirgaonkarWe review factor performance over the second quarter, provide the perspective of a long-term view and look to indications from our adaptive multi-factor model heading into Q3.
-
BLOG
Factors in Focus: Risky start. Quality finish.
Apr 2, 2019 Waman Virgaonkar , Hitendra D VarsaniWe highlight the fast-moving rotation among factors that continued during Q1 2019. As we move into Q2 2019, this framework showed allocation changes in different factors.
-
We have seen substantial rotation in factor index performance in the past 12 months. Value, the best-performing equity factor index in the second half of 2016, was the worst performer in the first six months of 2017.
Regulation
Cookie Preferences
Accept all cookies
This website uses cookies to remember users and understand ways to enhance their experience.
For more information, please visit our Cookie Notice.
Strictly Necessary, Functionality and Performance Cookies
We use cookies to enable you to move around our website and use its features, to provide you with functionality by remembering choices you make and provide enhanced features, and to learn how our website is performing and make improvements.
For more information, please visit our Cookie Notice.