Strategy faces MSCI ouster under new rules, billions in passive holdings at risk

Oct 16 (Reuters) Michael Saylor s Strategy faces potential removal from MSCI s global equity indexes under new rules adopted on Thursday, threatening billions of dollars in passive investment in ​the bitcoin buyer. Shares of Strategy, the world s biggest corporate ‌bitcoin holder and a constituent of the MSCI USA and MSCI World indexes, fell 2.7% in premarket trading on Friday. MSCI said on Thursday non-operating companies will be ineligible for its Global Investable Market Indexes from the close of November ‌30, ​as part of its November index ⁠review. It will publish the ⁠final list of affected companies on November 11. The decision follows a review MSCI began a year ago, when it proposed excluding digital asset treasury companies on the grounds that they ​resemble investment funds, which are already barred from its indexes. MSCI deferred that plan in January and opened a broader review on all ⁠non-operating companies. MSCI defines non-operating companies as ⁠investment funds and bu