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NASDAQ OMX has decided to adopt the ICB (Industry Classification Benchmark) standard globally, effective as of February 1, 2012. The NASDAQ OMX exchanges in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Reykjavik, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius will adopt ICB which is the current standard on the NASDAQ OMX exchanges in the US.
“As a result of this action, our listed companies can more effectively benchmark with global peers, a total of 75,000 securities, compared to 40,000 previously. It also enables us to create consistent and comprehensive global indexes, enabling individual and institutional investors to quickly, accurately, and objectively measure and invest in the market”, Jenny Rosberg, Senior Vice President Global Corporate Client Group at NASDAQ OMX says.
ICB is a widely used global standard for company classification, with four levels of granularity - industry, supersectors, sectors and subsectors. The transparent and comprehensive system is adopted by stock exchanges around the world, representing over 65 percent of the world’s market capitalisation. With over 75,000 securities across 73 countries, ICB provides extensive geographic reach, offering investors the widest choice, for the purposes of benchmarking, performance measurement or research/analysis. The ICB standard is maintained by the FTSE Group.
All NASDAQ OMX local and regional sector indexes, based on the GICS structure, will be discontinued as of February 1, 2012, and replaced by equivalent indexes based on the ICB structure, including more than 10 years of historical data.
All selected indexes, such as the Benchmark-series and Tradable Sectors, will have their selection methods revised early 2012. The revised rules will be made effective in connection to the mid-year reviews in June, 2012.
More information on: www.nasdaqomx.com/classificationchanges
