BME And FTSE Partner To Launch Responsible Investment Index In Spain

Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME) and FTSE Group (FTSE), the award-winning global index provider, plan to launch FTSE4Good IBEX, a new responsible investment index made up of Spanish companies listed on BME’s markets. The new index will be available in Q1 of 2008.

The FTSE4Good IBEX index will include existing large and mid cap FTSE4Good Spanish constituents and the transparent criteria and methodology will be based on evolving selection criteria in line with broad FTSE4Good standards. The criteria will be set at a level that is challenging yet achievable to encourage Spanish constituent companies to strive to meet them.

The FTSE4Good Index has become a globally recognised benchmark for investors wishing to identify responsible business practice. The launch of FTSE4Good IBEX is the answer to investors’ growing interest in socially responsible investing in Spain. Constituents are liquidity-screened to make the index suitable for the creation of financial products, such as certificates and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).

Jorge Yzaguirre Scharfhausen, Head of Equity Unit, BME said: "Through this initiative BME takes a step forward in its objective of providing the financial community with new products, in this case a new index on which structured products can be issued in future. BME aims to promote responsible investing through projects that encourage companies to adopt socially responsible business practices"

Imogen Dillon Hatcher, Managing Director, FTSE EMEA said, “FTSE is delighted to have partnered with BME to create an innovative new index for investors who are concerned about environmental and social risk in their portfolios and are looking to identify and invest in Spanish companies that meet both local and international Corporate Social Responsibility standards. The FTSE4Good IBEX index will offer investors worldwide a new tool which is specifically designed to support structured products and ETFs.”