Executives prioritise protecting capital, managing macroeconomic volatility: MSCI

Protecting access to capital and absorbing macroeconomic volatility are top of mind for the executives of publicly listed companies amid ongoing uncertainty and rapidly changing capital markets, a new survey shows.

MSCI's Corporate Issuers Benchmark Survey, which canvassed 250 decision makers around the world, including those from Australia, found managing cost and access to capital (84%), and managing macroeconomic and market volatility (46%) were their top two priorities when it comes to navigating capital markets.

These two priorities sat ahead of regulatory alignment and disclosure (28%), understanding investor perception (22%), and managing index inclusion and benchmark positioning (5%).

The survey found executives were also looking for insights on emerging risk areas that can support investor relations and capital market decisions, offering a clear signal of where they believe investor attention is focused.

"Macro and financial risk tops the list of areas where better intelligence would be most valuable, with 84% of corporate leaders saying insight into volatility, liquidity pressure and refinancing risk is deemed highly valuable," the report read.

About three quarters (77%) of leaders labelled cyber and data risk as other emerging risks. Regulatory risks come in closely at 76% while more than half said climate and nature risks were something to me mindful of.

The survey also found managing cost and access to capital is, at least in part, a function of how clearly institutional investors understand a company's risk profile, sustainability positioning and factor characteristics.

"These heavily influence passive fund flows and active allocation decisions. Corporate leaders who treat capital access and investor perception as separate priorities may be missing the degree to which investor clarity is itself a capital lever, one they can actively manage," the report showed.

MSCI head of corporates and advisers segment Cristina Bondolowski said: "Companies have more data than ever, but that is not translating into clearer insight on how they are perceived by investors and what ultimately shapes their share price. Gaining a deeper understanding of market signals enables better decision making, deeper shareholder engagement and significant insights into access and cost of capital."