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Rohit Mendiratta

Rohit Mendiratta

Vice President, MSCI Research

Rohit Mendiratta conducts index research and product development, working toward strategically expanding MSCI’s fixed-income index franchise. Previously, he worked as a quantitative analyst at Thomas White International and also worked at Fractal. Rohit holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. He is a CFA® Charterholder and GARP-certified FRM®.

Research and Insights

Articles by Rohit Mendiratta

    MSCI MarketAxess Tradable Corporate Bond Indexes: A Peek Under the Hood

    Research Report | Nov 22, 2023 | Rohit Mendiratta, Ray Wang, Afsaneh Mastouri

    We look deep into these indexes to determine what’s led to their showing characteristics, such as duration, spread and yield, similar to those of the parent index, as well as similar risk-adjusted performance.

    Understanding MSCI Climate Corporate Bond Indexes

    Research Report | Jun 23, 2023 | Rohit Mendiratta, Afsaneh Mastouri

    We offer a comprehensive guide for investors to illustrate how a complex set of financial and climate targets and climate investment objectives can be simultaneously integrated into the construction of indexes as well as portfolios.

    Corporate Bonds and Climate Change Risk

    Research Report | Feb 22, 2023 | Afsaneh Mastouri, Rohit Mendiratta, Guido Giese

    In this paper, we highlight to investors and portfolio managers the significance of climate-change risk for the value of corporate bonds, as well as provide a framework for further research in this area.

    Paris-Aligned Indexes to Manage the Future

    6 mins read Blog | Feb 17, 2022 | Dinank Chitkara, Hitendra D Varsani, Rohit Mendiratta

    As commitments to reach net-zero by 2050 surge, institutional investors are looking for tools to implement net-zero strategies in portfolios. Futures linked to the MSCI Climate Paris Aligned Indexes are one option for asset managers and asset owners.

    How ESG Affected Corporate Credit Risk and Performance

    Research Report | Nov 30, 2021 | Hitendra D Varsani, Guido Giese, Rohit Mendiratta

    Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing is a very broad field with many different investment approaches addressing various investment objectives across asset classes. While there are many studies relating to ESG in equities, the risk assessment of ESG considerations within fixed income may be equally if not more important. 

    ESG and Climate Derivatives in Equity Exposure Management

    Research Report | Jul 14, 2021 | Saurabh Katiyar, Rohit Mendiratta, Hitendra D Varsani

    Sustainable investing is on the rise around the world. We review four case studies involving global equities as a way to explore how investors could have used sustainable derivatives when managing ESG and climate-transition risk exposures.

    How Are High-ESG-Rated Bond Portfolios Distinct?

    7 mins read Blog | Feb 5, 2021 | Hitendra D Varsani, Rohit Mendiratta, Guido Giese

    ESG 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.

    What ESG Ratings Tell Us About Corporate Bonds

    6 mins read Blog | Nov 11, 2020 | Rohit Mendiratta, Hitendra D Varsani, Guido Giese

    How 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?

    Corporate Bonds Through a Factor and ESG Lens

    Blog | Jul 20, 2020 | Rohit Mendiratta, Hitendra D Varsani

    COVID-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?

    Factors in Focus: How Trendy Is Your Style Factor?

    9 mins read Blog | Jul 6, 2020 | Hitendra D Varsani, Waman Virgaonkar, Rohit Mendiratta

    As 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.

    Using Derivatives to Manage Volatile Markets

    Blog | May 4, 2020 | Hitendra D Varsani, Rohit Mendiratta

    We’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?

    Corporate-bond performance by factors and ESG

    Blog | Apr 14, 2020 | Rohit Mendiratta, Hitendra D Varsani

    The 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.

    Factors in Focus: Risk sentiment and factor dynamics in a crisis

    Blog | Apr 2, 2020 | Waman Virgaonkar, Rohit Mendiratta, Hitendra D Varsani

    We 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?

    Did corporate-credit factors offer a risk-return edge?

    Blog | Jan 24, 2020 | Rohit Mendiratta, Hitendra D Varsani

    Factors 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?

    Factors and Corporate Bonds: Single and Multi-Factor Approaches to Corporate Credit

    Research Report | Jan 6, 2020 | Hitendra D Varsani, Vipul Jain, Rohit Mendiratta

    Could factor investing offer a risk-return edge in USD investment-grade corporate credit? We simulated the past performance of six fixed-income factors — value, low size, quality, momentum, carry and low risk — that broadly align with MSCI’s equity factors.

    More than a feeling: Quantifying consumer sentiment

    Blog | Jul 17, 2019 | Rohit Mendiratta, George Bonne

    Among a flood of alternative data sources, consumer sentiment based on citations online stood out.

    Should we be surprised by earnings surprises?

    Blog | Feb 1, 2019 | Rohit Mendiratta, George Bonne

    Early 2019 earnings season has already contained a number of high-profile surprises, such as Facebooks's, but how predictable are these surprises, and what happens when earnings surprises return to trend?