Deutsche Boerse has launched the DivMSDAX Index, a blue-chip index that measures the performance of the 15 highest dividend-yielding mid- and small-cap stocks traded in Germany. It is geared toward professional and retail investors seeking long-term, value-based investment strategies. The new index is suited to underlie financial products such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), structured products and certificates.
UniCredit Bank AG has issued index certificates based on the price and total return versions of the DivMSDAX index. This is the first time that the index will be available to investors in Germany.
„Dividend-based investing is a simple and reliable approach for market participants with a conservative, long-term investment horizon. The DivMSDAX allows these investors to access highly liquid mid- to small-cap stocks that offer stable dividends. As the new index also complements the widely followed DivDAX, the two together can be used to capture the leading value stocks in Germany,“ said Hartmut Graf, chief executive officer, STOXX Ltd. STOXX Ltd. is the marketing agent for the indices of Deutsche Boerse AG and SIX Group AG, including the DAX and SMI indices.
The index universe for the DivMSDAX is defined as all components of the MDAX and SDAX, which measure the top 50 mid-cap and top 50 small-cap stocks, respectively, that are traded in Germany. The companies are ranked by dividend yield and the first 15 stocks are added to the index. Stocks also must have an average daily trading volume equal to or higher than 250,000 euro to be eligible for inclusion.
As of 13. May 2011, the largest three components by dividend yield in the DivMSDAX are Wincor Nixdorf O.N. (Germany, Industrial, DE000A0CAYB2), HANN.RUECKVER.AG NA O.N. (Germany, Insurance, DE0008402215) and DEUTSCHE EUROSHOP AG O.N. (Germany, Financial Services, DE0007480204). The one-year performance of DivMSDAX is 28.7%, as of 13. May 2011.
The DivMSDAX is weighted by float-adjusted market capitalization while individual component weights are capped at 10 percent. The index is rebalanced quarterly and reviewed annually in September. Daily history is available back to 17 September 1999. The index is calculated every 15 seconds and disseminated via Deutsche Boerse’s CEF® real-time data feed.
More information can be found at the DAX Indices website at http://www.dax-indices.com.