STOXX Ltd., the leading European index provider, today launched the Dow Jones STOXX Global Select Dividend 100 Index, which further complements the Dow Jones and Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend index series.
The Dow Jones STOXX Global Select Dividend 100 Index is the first global index that measures the performance of high-dividend yielding stocks worldwide. It tracks the 40 highest dividend-yielding stocks in the Americas as well as the 30 highest dividend-yielding stocks in Europe and in Asia/Pacific, respectively.
The index is designed to underlie financial products and has already been licensed to serve as an underlying for an ETF, which is scheduled to be launched in the second quarter of 2007.
"The Dow Jones STOXX Global Select Dividend 100 Index is a new member of our unique and highly successful select dividend indexes family, weighted by dividend yield instead of market capitalization," said Lars Hamich, managing director of STOXX Ltd. “This index enables investors to track high-dividend paying companies on a worldwide level and is the logical expansion of the Dow Jones and Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend index series, which tracks all the major national and regional financial markets.”
The Dow Jones STOXX Global Select Dividend 100 Index has an annualized performance of 15.42% since its inception on December 31, 1998. It has outperformed the Dow Jones STOXX Global 1800 Index by 58% over the last 5 years.
To be eligible for inclusion in the Dow Jones STOXX Global Select Dividend 100 Index, a company must have a positive historical five-year dividend-per-share growth rate and a dividend-to-earnings-per-share ratio of less than or equal to 60% in Europe and the Americas, 80% in Asia/Pacific the current year, or be a previous component.
The weight of individual components in the Dow Jones STOXX Global Select Dividend 100 Index is restricted to 15% in order to prevent the index from being dominated by single high-dividend paying stocks.
The Dow Jones STOXX Global Select Dividend 100 Index is reviewed on an annual basis in March. Price and total return indexes are calculated in Euro and U.S. dollar.
The Dow Jones and Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend Indexes series consists of the Dow Jones STOXX Global Select Dividend 100 Index, the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index, the Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index, the Dow Jones EURO STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index, the Dow Jones STOXX NORDIC Select Dividend 20 Index, the Dow Jones STOXX EU Enlarged Select Dividend 15 Index, the Dow Jones Select Dividend Indexes for Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the U.K., the Dow Jones SWX Select Dividend 20 Index, the Dow Jones Asia/Pacific Select Dividend 30 Index, the Dow Jones Asia Select Dividend 30 Index and the Dow Jones EPAC Select Dividend Index. This index series is based on the concept of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index, which was launched in November 2003 in response to the increased interest of U.S. investors in companies issuing dividends after lower U.S. tax rates on dividends were introduced.
Components, weightings and performance figures for the Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend Indexes can be found at www.stoxx.com.
