MSCI Adds 171 Securities and Removes 243 From Small-Cap Index in November Review
Key Facts
MSCI announced the results of its November equity-index review on November 11, 2026, adding 171 securities and removing 243 from the MSCI ACWI Small Cap Index. The company said all review changes would be implemented at the close of November 30, 2026. The results also covered broad global indexes and frontier markets, alongside the implementation of a new rule excluding non-operating companies from investable-market indexes. Reuters reported that Strategy and other companies would be removed from MSCI indexes on December 1. The decision puts the new eligibility rule into effect, while the review reshapes constituent lists across several indexes on the same timetable.
The changes extended to broader indexes: MSCI added 113 securities and removed 272 from the MSCI ACWI IMI, and added 140 and removed 100 from the MSCI World All Cap. In the MSCI Frontier Markets Index, the company added 12 securities and removed 10. The three largest additions by full market capitalization were Oman Arab Bank in Oman, BRAC Bank in Bangladesh and NCBA Group in Kenya. MSCI also added 100 securities and removed 21 from the MSCI Frontier Markets Small Cap Index. The figures show the review covered small-cap, global and frontier indexes, with an Omani company among the largest additions to the frontier index.
The non-operating companies rule starts with a preliminary screen of operating assets, followed, if a company fails, by a test of five financial metrics that are not sector-specific. A security becomes ineligible if it triggers a signal on four or more metrics, according to MSCI's methodology. The test applies to the latest two annual filings, with the latest interim filing usable if available. A company not currently in the index will be barred from inclusion if it fails in either period, while an existing constituent will be removed only if it fails in both. MSCI said it would apply the rule to investable global-market indexes from the close of November 30, setting a higher bar for additions than for removing existing constituents.
Reuters reported that MSCI would remove Strategy, Japan's Metaplanet and the UK's Yellow Cake after concluding that the companies in question were closer to investment funds, a profile that does not meet its criteria for non-operating companies. The agency did not identify each company's specific indexes in the open text, but said the removals from MSCI USA and MSCI World would take effect on December 1. Under that timetable, implementation comes at the close of November 30, with the change taking effect the following day. Strategy shares fell 4.2% on October 16 after the rule and the possibility of exclusion were announced, while the company and Metaplanet were then among those facing possible removal. In extended trading on November 11, Strategy shares fell 2.5% after the decision was announced, Reuters reported.
Reuters noted that index inclusion matters to passive and tracking funds because they are required to hold the shares included in the indexes they follow. Strategy had warned the previous year that its exclusion would lead to the liquidation of $2.8 billion in shares. JPMorgan previously estimated that potential outflows from the company's stock could reach $8.8 billion if other index providers followed MSCI's move; that estimate was conditional on such a move, not outflows that had occurred. Strategy shares fell about 20% from the start of the year through November 11, while Bitcoin declined 15% over the same period. This context links the index decision's effect on fund demand with the performance of the stock and digital asset during the year, without treating estimated outflows as realized.
The November review follows MSCI's announcement in August that changes to securities classified in Bangladesh would remain suspended in the August review, with implementation resuming from the November review. In the August review, MSCI added 203 securities and removed 261 from the ACWI Small Cap Index, but kept the suspension of changes relating to Bangladesh in place. The company said the removal of minimum price limits on the remaining affected Bangladeshi securities on June 9, 2026, ended the reason for the special treatment. The deferred changes include the number of shares and foreign inclusion factors, according to MSCI. The company will resume regular processing of corporate events in Bangladesh from December 1, 2026, and set February 9, 2027, as the announcement date for the next February review, with implementation on March 1, 2027.