"With the addition of the S&P/Citigroup indices, which covers over 97% of global market capitalization, Standard & Poor's is in a unique position to leverage its indexing experience, powerful calculation engine and deep and broad data set to meet the increasing investor demand for custom indices and benchmarks," said David Xiao, vice president, Standard & Poor's. "From active managers seeking to build a specific universe of stocks for managing their portfolios and measuring their returns, to index managers who require specific custom solutions such as an S&P 500 that excludes certain industries or specific stocks, Standard & Poor's Custom Index Solutions is able to deliver cost-effective, independent outsourcing solutions that meet investors' specific needs and mandates."
Other common examples of custom indices include geographic indices, currency-hedged indices, alternative weight indices, net return indices, as well as fully customized indices comprising a specific set of stocks.
S&P custom indices are calculated in SPICE, the Standard & Poor's Index Calculation Engine capable of real-time, multi-currency calculations. With daily pricing and free float data dating back to 1989, SPICE can also calculate extensive back history, a key feature for custom index solutions.
More information about the S&P Custom Index Solutions group can be found on www.indices.standardandpoors.com.
About Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the world's foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research, data and valuations. With 5,000 employees located in 20 countries, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for more than 140 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit www.standardandpoors.com.
