FTSE Group (“FTSE”), the award winning global index provider, today announces the launch of the FTSE Global Minimum Variance Index Series.
FTSE has combined its index and analytics expertise to develop the new FTSE Global Minimum Variance Index Series. Peter Gunthorp, Managing Director - Research & Analytics, comments: “In the current economic environment and given the nature of equity market returns in recent years, investors are increasingly interested in lower volatility investments which concentrate on improving their risk return profile whilst maintaining their allocation to global equity markets. The FTSE Global Minimum Variance Index Series will provide global investors with new product and benchmarking opportunities to meet their requirements.”
The series aims to deliver reduced index volatility, thereby offering potential improvements to the risk reward trade-off. Investors looking for a broad, diversified and investable portfolio incorporating a low volatility/variance objective may wish to use the FTSE Global Minimum Variance Index Series to support these objectives. Volatility reduction is achieved using an intuitive, transparent rules-based approach that minimizes historical variance and results in a broad index which is diversified across country, industry and stock levels.
Key Features
• Targets a more efficient investment portfolio through reduced volatility.
• Diversified index outcomes.
• Transparent approach with minimal constraints.
• Expected returns play no role.
• Academic evidence of a low volatility effect.
Based on the widely adopted FTSE All-World Developed Index Series, the FTSE Global Minimum Variance Index Series provides investors with an alternative to traditional cap weighted approaches, whilst maintaining full allocation to the relevant equity market. The global series follows on from the launch of the FTSE 100 Minimum Variance Index and includes the following indices:
• FTSE Developed Minimum Variance Index
• FTSE Developed Europe Minimum Variance Index
• FTSE Developed Europe ex UK Minimum Variance Index
• FTSE Eurobloc Minimum Variance Index
• FTSE Developed Asia Pacific Minimum Variance Index
• FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan Minimum Variance Index
• FTSE USA Minimum Variance Index
• FTSE Japan Minimum Variance Index