Quarterly Reviews To Be Introduced For FTSE SmallCap

Global index provider FTSE Group, has today announced that in response to market demand, both the FTSE SmallCap and FTSE All-Share will move to a quarterly rather than annual review. These changes will provide index users with increased accuracy and will also improve access to the market for small companies and their investors by offering faster entry to the FTSE All-Share via the SmallCap index.

The quarterly reviews, which begin in March 2003, will ensure that both the FTSE All-Share and FTSE SmallCap provide an up to date reflection of the UK and will standardise the review process by bringing it in line with other UK benchmark indices, including the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250.

The changes announced today are a result of the extensive consultation process with clients and market users, which began in March 2001.

Mark Makepeace, Chief Executive of FTSE Group said: "This is a positive move for both investors and for small UK companies. Trackers can now update and rebalance portfolios with large, mid and small cap stocks at the same points throughout the year, while smaller companies can benefit from increased access to the FTSE All-Share index, which is the starting point for most UK investment strategies."