STOXX and Source Team up on Supersector Indexes
According to a press release, key factors addressed in the construction of the new equity indexes are concentration, diversification, liquidity and availability to borrow stocks in the index. Source has licensed 18 of the 19 sectors as index benchmarks for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) which will be launched in the coming weeks, the announcement said.
STOXX says the indexes will be the first to take into
account the ability to borrow a stock in the stock lending
market, using data provided by Data Explorers, an
independent provider of stock lending and short interest
information.
“With the launch of the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Optimized
Supersector Indexes we are taking an innovative approach to
creating sector index products by focusing even more on
improved liquidity and diversification,” said Ricardo
Manrique, chief executive officer, STOXX Ltd., in the
announcement. “The even greater degree of underlying
liquidity is achieved by concepts such as applying a
special liquidity weighting factor to each component and
incorporating a stock’s availability to be borrowed. In
addition, a new component weighting cap scheme assures
UCITS-III compliance.”
The initial index universe for the Dow Jones STOXX 600
Optimized Supersector Indexes is the stocks in the Dow
Jones STOXX 600 Index. Stocks from Iceland and Greece are
removed, and the remaining stocks are ranked by two
liquidity measures: average daily turnover value (ADTV) to
market free float (%ADTV ratio); and availability to
borrow. Up to 60 stocks with the lowest liquidity are
removed from the index.
The remaining stocks are divided into the 19 Supersectors
based on their Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB):
Automobiles & Parts, Banks, Basic Resources, Chemicals,
Construction & Materials, Financial Services, Food
& Beverage, Health Care, Industrial Goods &
Services, Insurance, Media, Oil & Gas, Personal &
Household Goods, Real Estate, Retail, Technology,
Telecommunications, Travel & Leisure and Utilities.
More information is at www.stoxx.com .
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