Strategy, Metaplanet could face MSCI index removal under new proposal

Index provider MSCI has opened a consultation that could remove Strategy and Metaplanet from its Global Investable Market Indexes under a proposed methodology for identifying non-operating companies.

According to MSCI’s latest consultation, a simulation using May 2026 data showed Strategy, Metaplanet, and uranium investment company Yellow Cake would be deleted from the MSCI ACWI IMI under the new proposal. SharpLink, Center Laboratories, and Lydia Holding would be placed on a public watchlist.

The proposal broadens MSCI’s review beyond digital asset treasury companies. Earlier in January, MSCI said it would not immediately exclude such companies “for the time being” and would instead examine non-operating companies more broadly. JPMorgan analysts estimated last year that removing Strategy from MSCI indexes could trigger about $2.8 billion in passive outflows.

A two-step screen for corporate issuers 

Under the proposed methodology, companies would first be assessed on whether their asset structure contains sufficient operating assets before being evaluated against five financial ratios if they fail the initial test.

The five measures are operating asset intensity, expense intensity, cash flow, fair value intensity, and capital dependence. A company would be considered ineligible if it fails the core screen and triggers at least four of the five exclusion flags, MSCI said. 

The proposed thresholds include operating assets below 20% of total assets, operating expenses below 5% of total assets, negative operating cash flow, non-operating fair value changes above 5% of total assets, and capital dependence above 20%.

Meanwhile, current index constituents would face less stringent thresholds than non-constituents and would need to fail the screen for two consecutive annual filings before deletion, according to the proposal. Strategy, with a free-float-adjusted market capitalization of $23.9 billion in the May 2026 simulation, is the largest company flagged for removal.

MSCI said the approach is designed to limit index turnover and require persistent evidence before removing existing constituents.

“Only a sustained change in business structure triggers reclassification, while a briefer, one-off threshold miss does not,” MSCI said in the consultation document.

The proposed framework is intended to identify companies that accumulate and hold non-operating assets, generate little cash from business operations, and rely on external capital to grow, according to MSCI.

The proposal does not yet change the composition of MSCI indexes. MSCI said it is seeking feedback from market participants through Sept. 30 and expects to announce consultation results by Oct. 16.