This is still a young field. Closely related terms are sometimes used for very different activities. Expressions such as "index technology" or "self-service indexing" have entered the industry's public vocabulary only recently, first championed by emerging technology players and now increasingly visible in the initiatives of established index providers.

So what do these terms mean, and where does MCFT stand?

Index technology

By index technology, we mean the software infrastructure used to design, simulate, implement, calculate, analyze and monitor rules-based investment methodologies. It includes structured methodology definitions, index construction engines, backtesting, analytics, documentation, recurring calculation workflows, APIs, data integration, auditability and, increasingly, AI-assisted formulation.

It is not merely a backtesting tool. Its purpose is to connect an investment idea to an explicit methodology, and that methodology to reproducible calculation and operational use.

MCFT positions itself in this category: we are an index technology provider, not an index provider. With Folio, we develop the infrastructure enabling institutions to research, configure, analyze and operate index-grade strategies.

Index technology is not index administration

This distinction is essential.

An index provider or benchmark administrator may take responsibility for methodology governance, oversight, approvals, publication, licensing, applicable regulatory obligations and operational accountability for an official benchmark.

A technology provider builds the infrastructure through which methodologies can be specified, tested, calculated and monitored. That infrastructure may be used by an index provider, an asset manager or an asset owner. It does not mean that the technology provider administers, publishes or licenses the resulting indices.

This separation is central to MCFT's positioning.

Self-service indexing

Self-service indexing is a platform model in which a financial institution that is not necessarily an index provider can configure, test, analyze and potentially put into production an index or private benchmark within a controlled technology environment.

"Self-service" does not mean ungoverned. Institutional platforms must embed approved data, methodology components, validation workflows, versioning, audit trails and production controls.

The objective is to make customization scalable without sacrificing methodological rigor.

Self-indexing: a different concept

Despite the similarity of the terms, self-indexing and self-service indexing do not mean the same thing.

Self-indexing generally refers to an asset manager or ETF issuer running a fund against an index designed by itself or an affiliated entity, instead of licensing an external index.

Self-service indexing refers to the technology used to design and operate customized index methodologies.

A firm can self-index without using a self-service platform. Conversely, it can use a self-service indexing platform without issuing any self-indexed fund, for example, to operate private benchmark universes for research, asset allocation or risk analysis.

Self-indexing firms are, of course, natural potential users of index technology.

Direct indexing and custom indexing

Another adjacent concept is direct indexing, especially developed in US wealth management.

Direct indexing generally means that an end-investor owns the individual securities intended to track a benchmark or strategy, rather than holding an ETF or fund. It enables personalized exclusions and tax management, particularly tax-loss harvesting at the individual security level in the United States.

Platforms such as Syntax Direct target advisors and wealth managers seeking to build customized portfolios for end-clients at scale.

This is an important adjacent market, but it is not MCFT's primary target. Folio focuses on institutional index technology: index design, private benchmarks, customized methodologies and recurring calculation for index providers, asset managers and asset owners.

One linguistic trap remains: a custom index in an institutional context can mean a bespoke benchmark or product methodology; direct/custom indexing in wealth management often refers to individually customized portfolios held directly by end-clients.

An emerging ecosystem

Independent firms are approaching this new technology layer from different angles: BITA presents itself as an index technology company; PANTA as an index operating system; MerQube has introduced The Garage for index construction.

At the same time, established providers are visibly moving in this direction. S&P Dow Jones Indices has launched SPICE IndexBuilder, while MSCI has expanded its custom-index capabilities through Foxberry F9.

The direction is becoming clear: customization increasingly requires scalable technology. For incumbent index providers, one of the challenges is connecting these new self-service workflows with existing data, governance and production systems, often built around long-standing processes and legacy software.

The main use cases

For us, index technology covers four main applications:

• A no-code index design studio for research and product teams at index providers or asset managers designing indices, benchmarks or systematic fund ranges.
• A white-labeled self-service indexing platform offered by an index provider under its own brand, governance, datasets and methodology presets.
• A live calculation engine supporting recurring calculation, rebalancing and monitoring for index providers or self-indexing institutions.
• Direct/custom indexing platforms for advisors and wealth managers, especially in US tax-aware mandates, an adjacent segment rather than MCFT's core focus.

These distinctions matter because the indexing landscape is changing rapidly. New technologies are not merely creating more indices. They are changing who can define systematic strategies, who can operate them, and how investment logic moves from idea to infrastructure.

At MCFT, this is the part of the landscape we are building for: institutional-grade index technology, from design to recurring calculation.

The MCFT Founders - Romain Charlassier, Jonathan Klein and Lucas Mouilleron