SAM, Dow Jones Indexes and KPC Announce Plans to Launch Dow Jones Sustainability Korea Index

ZURICH, March 31, 2009 — SAM, the sustainability investing specialist, Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, and the Korea Productivity Center (KPC), the agency tasked to increase productivity within Korean industry, today announced their plans to launch a dedicated sustainability index for Korea.

The Dow Jones Sustainability Korea Index is scheduled to go live in the fourth quarter 2009 and will be designed to track the sustainability leaders among Korea’s largest 200 companies by free-float market capitalization. The announcement follows the recent establishment of Korea’s presidential commission for green growth and the approval of a new “Low Carbon and Green Growth Bill” by Korea’s cabinet at the end of February.

Like all Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, components for this benchmark will be selected based on SAM’s comprehensive analysis of economic, environmental and social performance. Covering a variety of issues such as corporate governance, risk management, branding, climate change mitigation, supply chain standards and human capital, the analysis reflects the growing importance investors attribute to sustainability criteria around the globe. Invitations for participation in SAM’s annual sustainability assessment will be sent to the companies in early April. Dow Jones Indexes will calculate and disseminate the new benchmark while KPC will promote the index among Korean corporations and investors.

The announcement of the new index coincides with a growing recognition among asset owners, regulators and policymakers worldwide that financial markets need to shift focus from short-termism to long-term thinking.

“KPC has played a pivotal role in the development of Korea’s economy during the last decades. We are convinced that sustainability has to become an integral part of this development moving forward and that financial markets are an essential player in that context. Providing markets with a solid and thoroughly researched benchmark is an essential step towards this objective. SAM and Dow Jones Indexes are the best possible partners for us to move ahead on this track,” said Chun-Seon Lee, managing director, Korea Productivity Center.

“In spite of the current crisis, Asia Pacific will remain home to some of the most vibrant and rapidly developing financial markets worldwide. Korea is a case in point for this. The new

Dow Jones Sustainability Korea Index will allow market participants to reflect the sustainability dimension within this momentum by offering a transparent and reliable benchmark of the country’s sustainability leaders,” said John A. Prestbo, editor and executive director, Dow Jones Indexes.

“The Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes provide reference points for investors and corporations alike. A growing number of asset owners is using the DJSI family for their investments and more and more companies define index inclusion as a corporate goal. As a result, the indexes offer companies an incentive to strive for constant sustainability improvements. We are delighted that KPC has chosen the DJSI family to leverage this dynamic on a national basis in Korea and thus to support the sustainability momentum within this important market,” said Alexander Barkawi, managing director, SAM Indexes.

About SAM

SAM was established in Zurich in 1995 as the first investment group focused exclusively on the integration of economic, environmental and social criteria into investing. The company’s services comprise asset management and indexing. In 1999, SAM teamed up with Dow Jones Indexes to launch the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) — the first benchmarks tracking the performance of sustainability leaders on a global scale. Two years later, European index provider STOXX Limited joined this cooperation to expand the DJSI family with European and Eurozone sustainability benchmarks — the DJSI STOXX and DJSI EURO STOXX. Today, the DJSI family comprises global, European, Eurozone, North American, US as well as Asia Pacific sustainability benchmarks. Total assets managed against the DJSI family amount to over US$6bn. Full details about the design philosophy, review methodology and index components are freely available at www.sam-group.com and www.sustainability-indexes.com.

About Korea Productivity Center

Established in 1957, the Korea Productivity Center (KPC) has been designated by the Korean government to support productivity improvements across the country’s economy. Over the last five decades KPC has played a pivotal role in increasing productivity in Korea and thus growing the national economy. The organization’s services comprise consulting, education and training, as well as support for the implementation of quality and environmental management systems. KPC has also developed and continues to publish Korea’s National Customer Satisfaction Index (NCSI) as well as the country’s National Brand Competitiveness Index (NBCI). Further information is available at www.kpc.or.kr.

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Journalists may e-mail questions regarding this press release or contact Dow Jones Indexes press office:

New York: +1-212-597-5720
London: +44-20-3379-3804

About Dow Jones Indexes

Dow Jones Indexes is a leading full-service index provider that develops, maintains and licenses indexes for use as benchmarks and as the basis of investment products. Best-known for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Dow Jones Indexes offers more than 130,000 equity indexes as well as fixed-income and alternative indexes, including measures of hedge funds, commodities and real estate. Dow Jones Indexes employs clear, unbiased and systematic methodologies that are fully integrated within index families. Dow Jones Indexes is part of a joint venture company owned 90 percent by CME Group Inc. and 10 percent by Dow Jones & Company, Inc., a News Corporation company (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV).

"Dow Jones®," "Dow Jones Indexes," and all other index names listed above are service marks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC ("Dow Jones"), and have been licensed for use by CME Group Index Services LLC ("CME Indexes").

About SAM

François Vetri
Head of Corporate Communications
Josefstrasse 218
CH-8005 Zürich
Phone: +41 44 653 10 02
Fax: +41 44 653 10 80
com@sam-group.com
http://www.sam-group.com

SAM is an investment boutique focused exclusively on Sustainability Investing. The firm’s offering comprises asset management, indexes and private equity. Its asset management capabilities include a range of single-theme, multi-theme and core sustainability investment strategies catering to institutional asset owners and financial intermediaries in Europe, the United States, and Asia-Pacific. Through its index activities, SAM has partnered with Dow Jones Indexes for the publication and licensing of the globally recognized Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) as well as customized sustainability benchmarks. Furthermore, SAM is the center of expertise for clean tech private equity within Robeco.

Based on its Corporate Sustainability Assessment, SAM has compiled one of the world's largest sustainability databases and analyzes over 2,000 listed companies annually. SAM’s proprietary research and sustainability data are fully integrated into its offering.

SAM belongs to Robeco, which was established in 1929 and offers a broad range of investment products and services worldwide. Robeco is a subsidiary of the AAA-rated Rabobank Group.

SAM was founded in 1995, is headquartered in Zurich and employs over 100 professionals. As of June 30, 2011, SAM’s total assets amount to USD 16.4B.