NEW YORK (June 30, 2011) — The late-June licensing of eight indexes from the Dow Jones Emerging Markets Sector Titans Indexes series capped an impressive first half of 2011 for Dow Jones Indexes, which also launched a host of innovative indexes and commemorated the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 115th anniversary.
Among the other first-half 2011 highlights for the global index provider included:
- a collaboration with FXCM Inc. to launch the Dow Jones FXCM Dollar Index, which measures the value of the U.S. dollar against a basket of the world’s most liquid currencies;
- the licensing, with SAM, of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Enlarged ex All/AE Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe ex All/AE Index, to Blackrock for use with ETFs; and
- the winning of three awards for its highly decorated Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes series:
- “Best Islamic Index Provider” by Islamic Business & Finance;
- “Islamic Index Provider of the Year in Asia” by Asia Asset Management; and
- “Best Shari’ah Compliant Index Provider of the Year” by Global Finance.
“The first half of 2011 was outstanding for Dow Jones Indexes,” said Michael A. Petronella, President, Dow Jones Indexes. “We launched creative, market-driven indexes, entered into licensing agreements with some of the most respected names in global investment management and expanded our European index offerings. Mostly, I’m proud of my Dow Jones Indexes colleagues who continue to work tirelessly to execute our ambitious business strategy. It is only because of their commitment and dedication that we have realized our success.”
Earlier this month, Dow Jones Indexes announced the launch of two European blue-chip stock indexes — the Dow Jones Eurozone Titans 80 Index and the Dow Jones Europe Titans 80 Index, the first in a series of geographically specific products that underscore the firm’s commitment to Europe.
Other notable index launch and licensing announcements in the first half of 2011 were:
- four new indexes to its family of Dow Jones RBP Indexes, including three large-cap “style” indexes of growth and value stocks as well as an index that blends growth and value. Also launched was the first index in the Dow Jones RBP Index family to utilize dividends to select and weight companies;
- the Dow Jones Credit Suisse Core Hedge Fund Index, the first and only hedge fund index designed to reflect the performance of managed accounts and other regulated fund structures sourced from multiple best-in-class managed account platforms, creating an unparalleled view of the liquid, investable hedge fund universe;
- four bond indexes for Costa Rica as part of the Dow Jones LATixx index family. These indexes are designed to measure the performance of the Costa Rican government’s debt instruments in local currency and U.S. dollars;
- the Dow Jones Brookfield Emerging Markets Infrastructure Index, which aims to represent companies in emerging market countries that are owners and operators of infrastructure assets. This index has been licensed, along with the Dow Jones Brookfield Global Infrastructure Index, to ETF Securities;
- the licensing of The Global Dow, which measures the stock performance of 150 of the world’s leading companies, to State Street Global Advisors for use with an ETF;
- the launch of the Dow Jones Global Commodity Equity 100 Index, the flagship of a new index series that measures the stock performance of companies engaged in the exploration or production of both scarce and renewable commodities;
- the daily currency hedged versions of the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index, calculated to reflect the hedging of foreign exchange risk on a daily basis;
- the Dow Jones Islamic Market Global Finance & Takaful Index, which measures the performance of financial services stocks that pass rules-based screens for Shari’ah compliance. Insurance stocks that pass such screens are known as Takaful; and
- the licensing of the Dow Jones U.S. Mid-Cap Total Stock Market Index and the Dow Jones U.S. Select REIT Index to Charles Schwab for two new ETFs.
From January through June 2011, Dow Jones Indexes announced the licensing of 14 indexes to underlie ETFs, including eight on June 23 – when the firm announced Emerging Global Advisors LLC (EGA) had expanded its licensing of the Dow Jones Emerging Markets Sector Titans Indexes.
Perhaps the most memorable event for Dow Jones Indexes in the first half of 2011 was May 26, the date New York City proclaimed as “Dow Jones Industrial Average Day” in recognition of the iconic index’s 115th anniversary. In an official proclamation, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the anniversary was an “historic milestone”.
Founded in downtown Manhattan by Wall Street Journal pioneer Charles Dow on May 26, 1896, The Dow is, according to Mayor Bloomberg, “the most recognizable, most frequently quoted, and longest-serving market indicator of its kind.”