MSCI vs. VIRT: MSCI vs. Virtu Financial Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do MSCI (MSCI) and Virtu Financial (VIRT) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

MSCI (MSCI) and Virtu Financial (VIRT) both belong to the Capital Markets industry, though MSCI is classified under Financial Exchanges & Data while VIRT falls under Investment Banking & Brokerage.

Company profile comparison for MSCI (MSCI) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
Profile Item	MSCI	VIRT
Name	MSCI Inc.	Virtu Financial Inc. Class A Common Stock
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Financials	Financials
GICS Industry Group	Financial Services	Financial Services
GICS Industry	Capital Markets	Capital Markets
GICS Sub-Industry	Financial Exchanges & Data	Investment Banking & Brokerage
Market Capitalization	46.60 billion USD	11.67 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	November 15, 2007	April 16, 2015
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

MSCI

VIRT

GSPC

MSCI (MSCI) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for MSCI (MSCI) and Virtu Financial (VIRT). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for MSCI (MSCI) and Virtu Financial (VIRT). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for MSCI (MSCI) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
Metric	MSCI	VIRT
Total Return (1Y)	12.76%	57.98%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	9.86%	51.24%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	1.00%	19.25%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

MSCI

VIRT

GSPC

MSCI (MSCI) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for MSCI (MSCI) and Virtu Financial (VIRT). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for MSCI (MSCI) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
Metric	MSCI	VIRT
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	29.82%	37.43%
Beta (5Y)	1.17	0.69
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-43.74%	-54.52%
Avg. Volume (3M)	590.34K	1.26M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

MSCI and VIRT are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for MSCI (MSCI) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
Metric	MSCI	VIRT
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.28	1.43
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.40	2.27

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Virtu Financial (VIRT) earns 57.03% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; MSCI (MSCI) has no ROE this period.

MSCI

Financial Services industry group

Max: 44.78%
Q3: 21.85%
Median: 12.91%
Q1: 4.48%
Min: -18.71%
MSCI: --

VIRT

Financial Services industry group

57.03%

VIRT: 57.03%
Max: 44.78%
Q3: 21.85%
Median: 12.91%
Q1: 4.48%
Min: -18.71%

MSCI (MSCI) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): MSCI does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; VIRT is benchmarked against the Financial Services industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

MSCI (MSCI) at 40.31% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 17.96%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

MSCI

Financial Services industry group

40.31%

Max: 62.84%
MSCI: 40.31%
Q3: 28.05%
Median: 15.36%
Q1: 4.82%
Min: -28.52%

VIRT

Financial Services industry group

17.96%

Max: 62.84%
Q3: 28.05%
VIRT: 17.96%
Median: 15.36%
Q1: 4.82%
Min: -28.52%

MSCI (MSCI) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their net margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

MSCI (MSCI) at 56.41% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 36.32%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

MSCI

Financial Services industry group

56.41%

Max: 107.33%
MSCI: 56.41%
Q3: 55.90%
Median: 30.09%
Q1: 14.60%
Min: -44.34%

VIRT

Financial Services industry group

36.32%

Max: 107.33%
Q3: 55.90%
VIRT: 36.32%
Median: 30.09%
Q1: 14.60%
Min: -44.34%

MSCI (MSCI) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their operating margin against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for MSCI (MSCI) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
Metric	MSCI	VIRT
ROE (TTM)	--	57.03%
ROA (TTM)	21.75%	5.01%
Net Margin (TTM)	40.31%	17.96%
Operating Margin (TTM)	56.41%	36.32%
Gross Margin (TTM)	--	--

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both MSCI (MSCI) at 9.75% and Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 26.25% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

MSCI (MSCI) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 72.73% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while MSCI (MSCI) at 11.67% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for VIRT.

MSCI (MSCI) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for MSCI (MSCI) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
Metric	MSCI	VIRT
Revenue Growth (YoY)	9.75%	26.25%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	11.71%	15.38%
EPS Growth (YoY)	11.67%	72.73%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	13.54%	28.11%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

current ratio doesn’t apply on either side: MSCI (MSCI) in Financial Services and Virtu Financial (VIRT) in Financial Services both report balance sheets without a current/non-current split, so their short-term liquidity is better judged through regulatory and funding measures.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

debt-to-equity ratio is set aside for both: MSCI (MSCI) in Financial Services and Virtu Financial (VIRT) in Financial Services run businesses where balance-sheet leverage is part of the model, so capital-adequacy and funding measures are the better gauges of balance-sheet risk.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for MSCI (MSCI) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
Metric	MSCI	VIRT
Current Ratio (MRQ)	--	--
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	--
Net Debt / EBITDA	--	--

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both MSCI (MSCI) at 1.21% and Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 1.78% pay solid, industry-typical yields, sitting squarely within their peers’ usual range.

MSCI

Financial Services industry group

1.21%

Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
MSCI: 1.21%
Median: 1.09%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

VIRT

Financial Services industry group

1.78%

Max: 9.77%
Q3: 3.92%
VIRT: 1.78%
Median: 1.09%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

MSCI (MSCI) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both MSCI (MSCI) at 42.04% and Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 15.95% keep payout ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges — dividend policies that share earnings without consuming too much of them.

MSCI

Financial Services industry group

42.04%

Max: 241.07%
Q3: 97.36%
MSCI: 42.04%
Median: 25.77%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

VIRT

Financial Services industry group

15.95%

Max: 241.07%
Q3: 97.36%
Median: 25.77%
VIRT: 15.95%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

MSCI (MSCI) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for MSCI (MSCI) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
Metric	MSCI	VIRT
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.21%	1.78%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	42.04%	15.95%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 7.92 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while MSCI (MSCI) at 33.90 sits in the richer quartile — a clear split in what investors pay for each dollar of trailing earnings.

MSCI

Financial Services industry group

33.90

Max: 45.85
MSCI: 33.90
Q3: 24.64
Median: 15.37
Q1: 9.68
Min: 0.16

VIRT

Financial Services industry group

7.92

Max: 45.85
Q3: 24.64
Median: 15.37
Q1: 9.68
VIRT: 7.92
Min: 0.16

MSCI (MSCI) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Virtu Financial (VIRT) at 3.35 prices around its industry’s typical P/S ratio, while MSCI (MSCI) at 13.58 clears its benchmark range — MSCI looks notably rich on sales.

MSCI

Financial Services industry group

13.58

MSCI: 13.58
Max: 9.23
Q3: 4.57
Median: 2.72
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

VIRT

Financial Services industry group

3.35

Max: 9.23
Q3: 4.57
VIRT: 3.35
Median: 2.72
Q1: 1.28
Min: -0.55

MSCI (MSCI) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

MSCI (MSCI) reports a negative P/B ratio of -15.24, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile Virtu Financial (VIRT) reports 1.92, ranking against industry peers normally.

MSCI

Financial Services industry group

-15.24

Max: 7.79
Q3: 3.63
Median: 1.57
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39
MSCI: -15.24

VIRT

Financial Services industry group

1.92

Max: 7.79
Q3: 3.63
VIRT: 1.92
Median: 1.57
Q1: 0.81
Min: -0.39

MSCI (MSCI) vs. Virtu Financial (VIRT): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Financial Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for MSCI (MSCI) and Virtu Financial (VIRT)
Metric	MSCI	VIRT
P/E Ratio (TTM)	33.90	7.92
P/S Ratio (TTM)	13.58	3.35
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	-15.24	1.92
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	--	--