In a move to expand the offering of cost-efficient benchmarks, Solactive is releasing the Solactive Nordic 150 Index, a new index tracking the 150 most liquid shares listed in the Nordic region covering Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Investors can use the benchmark to evaluate the performance of the Scandinavian equity market and to compare their portfolio’s returns against it. Alternatively, it can serve as the basis on which to construct smart beta strategies or as the underlying for index-linked investment products such as ETFs and structured products.
The Scandinavian region is home to large companies operating in industries such as telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, financial services, fossil fuels, forestry, industrial engineering & transportation. The Nordic countries generally present an attractive macroeconomic environment with low public debt figures1, current account surpluses (with the exception of Finland)2 and positive growth forecasts for the coming years3. It is no coincidence that that the sovereign credit ratings on these countries range from high to highest quality4. In addition, all four countries figure among the twelve most competitive economies in the world, according to the 2016-2017 Global Competitiveness Report by the World Economic Forum. For these reasons, an index focused on Scandinavia offers investors the opportunity of gaining exposure to one of the most stable and productive regions in Europe.
Henning Kahre, Head of Research Solactive AG, commented: “The Solactive Nordic 150 Index provides diversified exposure to a broad basket of companies from the Nordic region. We are currently working on launching various regional indices to extend our existing benchmark offering.”
The Solactive Nordic 150 Index is composed of 150 shares selected based on the 12-month liquidity and weighted according to free float market capitalization.
Shares must be listed on one of the following exchanges: Nasdaq Copenhagen (XCSE), Nasdaq Helsinki (XHEL), Nasdaq Stockholm (XSTO) and Oslo Børs (XOSL). As of the launch date, the five top holdings included in the index are Astrazeneca, Novo Nordisk, Abb Group, Atlas Copco and Nordea Bank. The three most represented sectors are Industrials, Finance and Healthcare, reaching a composite weight of nearly 65% of the index. The index is calculated as a gross total return, price return and net total return index and is denominated in SEK. The index is readjusted semiannually.
