MSCI Private i vs Chronograph: API, MCP and investor access compared

Key differences

• API. MSCI Private i: partner only (for LP and GP users). Chronograph: partner only (GraphQL, API key, for LP and GP users, sandbox).
• MCP server. MSCI Private i: not documented. Chronograph: available (vendor-maintained, endpoint published, Streamable HTTP, another auth method).
• Difficulty. The registry rates MSCI Private i 3 of 5 (exports, SFTP or email feeds, no investor-side API) and Chronograph 2 of 5 (partner or client API with some friction). The rating describes how hard programmatic access is for an investor, not product quality.
• Capabilities. Listed for Chronograph only: Capital account statements, Fund reports and NAV.
• Export formats. Chronograph lists: XLSX; none recorded for MSCI Private i.
• Asset classes. Listed for MSCI Private i only: Real estate.
• Automation in the terms. Recorded as unknown for MSCI Private i and permitted for Chronograph.

What the entries have in common

• Neither entry documents SFTP, webhooks or email notifications.
• Investor-side API: documented for both, according to the assessment.
• Regions: both list Global and North America.
• Known deployments: none documented for either yet.

Which fits which need

Neither product is right for every team. The statements below are conditional and come straight from the registry fields above.

For investors and LP operations teams

• If your investors or your operations team need documents and data through an API, the registry records the API as partner only (aimed at LP and GP users) for both. Access for the investor itself is recorded as documented for both.
• If you want to reach the data from an AI assistant, the MCP server is not documented for MSCI Private i and available for Chronograph. A vendor MCP server can still be limited to the vendor's direct customers, so read the research notes below for who may sign in.
• If you process capital call and distribution notices from your inbox, email notifications are not documented for either.
• If you load files into your own systems, the registry lists no export formats for MSCI Private i and XLSX for Chronograph.
• If you plan to automate your own login, automation in the terms is unknown for MSCI Private i and permitted for Chronograph. Where it is prohibited or unknown, ask the GP or the vendor for a sanctioned channel first.

For GPs, fund administrators and buyers

• If you need to connect the product to your back office, both entries record API partner only, webhooks not documented and SFTP not documented.
• If the product must carry the core LP reporting items (capital calls, distributions, capital account statements and tax documents), the structured capabilities cover capital calls and distributions for MSCI Private i and capital calls, distributions and capital account statements for Chronograph.
• If your investors are concentrated in particular markets, the regions recorded are Global and North America for MSCI Private i and North America and Global for Chronograph.
• If you manage a specific strategy, the asset classes recorded are private equity, venture capital, private credit, real estate, infrastructure and fund of funds for MSCI Private i and private equity, venture capital, private credit, infrastructure and fund of funds for Chronograph.
• If you want to see who already runs each product, the registry has no documented deployments for either yet. Operators can add theirs to the registry.
• If your investors will want programmatic access later, the difficulty rating is 3 of 5 for MSCI Private i and 2 of 5 for Chronograph, where 1 is a documented self-serve API an investor can use and 5 is web login only with MFA.

For a structured shortlist beyond these two products, see the guide how to choose an investor portal.

What the research says

MSCI Private i (Burgiss)

Assessment. Data and Analytics APIs for authorised LP clients, no public docs, no MCP.

Research notes. LP-side book of record and benchmarking platform (Burgiss, Caissa), not a GP portal. 30,100 funds covered per vendor.

• API: Private i Data API and Analytics API for authorised clients.

Sources: www.msci.com/our-solutions/private-capital/private-i

Chronograph LP

Assessment. The LP is the customer: GraphQL and REST API with keys and sandbox, Snowflake share, Excel exports, vendor MCP server. Not fully self-serve.

Research notes. Not a GP-to-LP portal: an LP-side monitoring platform where the LP is the customer and GP documents are aggregated on its behalf. Listed because it is the strongest example of investor-side API plus MCP today.

• API: GraphQL and REST APIs, keys for approved developers, sandbox, docs behind client login. Snowflake Secure Data Share.
• MCP: Anthropic-verified connector since November 2025. Tools: run-query, entity-search, commitment-history, investment-metrics, top-exposures.
• Terms: Vendor provides API and MCP for client automation.

Sources: www.chronograph.pe/limited-partners/ · www.chronograph.pe/mcp-connectors/ · claude.com/connectors/chronograph

Frequently asked questions