Administration February 1, 2003

NYSE To Revise Composite Index, Serve as ETF Basis

January 2, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has announced the introduction of a revised composite index that will also serve as the basis for an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Reported by

The changes, which will be reflected on January 9, 2003, will recalibrate the base value of the 37-year-old NYSE Composite Index to no longer include issues such as:

  • closed-end funds,
  • preferred stocks,
  • derivatives and
  • limited partnerships

The new index will also move from a full market cap weighting to a float-adjusted market cap weighting to account for only those shares available for trading.  Instead, the revised index will measure the performance of all NYSE-listed common stocks, ADRs, tracking stocks and REITs.

The index will be re-weighted at 5,000 from its current value, as of midday January 2, of 483.63.   It began at 50 on December 31, 1965.

With the revisions, the NYSE said it is planning on introducing a fund based on the index in the near future, but an expected launch date was not given.

The NYSE, with the support of Dow Jones Indexes, reconstructed the index under a fully transparent and rules-based methodology that the exchange said is aligned with those of other widely watched indexes.

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