S&P, TMX Group Launch S&P/TSX Venture Select Index For The Canadian Market - S&P Licenses Blackrock To List ETF Based Upon The Index

Providing Canadian investors with a new and innovative approach to tracking the performance of smaller-cap Canadian Stocks trading on TSX Venture Exchange, S&P Indices and TMX Group Inc., owner of Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange, launched today the S&P/TSX Venture Select Index. The S&P/TSX Venture Select Index measures the performance of constituents in the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index that meet specific market capitalization and liquidity criteria. The S&P/TSX Venture Composite is a broad market indicator of Canadian micro-cap securities.
 
S&P Indices also announced today that it has licensed Blackrock, Inc., one of the world's largest providers of exchange traded funds (ETF) to launch an ETF based upon the S&P/TSX Venture Select Index.
 
"With the launch of this Index, investors will have the opportunity to track the performance of the growth in Canadian micro-cap securities," says Abigail Etches, Director at S&P Indices.
 
For more information about the S&P/TSX Venture Select Index, please visit: www.standardandpoors.com/indices.