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Crowned with success was the event organised by the Athens Stock Exchange on Wednesday, 1 November 2017, entitled: "The role of indexes as a means for enhancing company profiles and supporting investment decisions". Mark Makepeace, London Stock Exchange Group Director of Information Services and Chief Executive of FTSE Russell, was keynote speaker.
The event was held in celebration of the twenty years of successful cooperation between FTSE Russel and the Athens Stock Exchange.
During his brief address, Mr. Makepeace first thanked the organisers for the invitation, and continued by noting: "I am so excited to be representing London Stock Exchange Group and FTSE Russell at this very important event to mark 20 years of cooperation with the Athens Stock Exchange.
We have been strong partners over the last two decades and, as the FTSE/ATHEX Large Cap Index celebrates its 20th anniversary we are delighted to be expanding our collaboration further with the introduction of a new index measuring dividend-oriented Greek equities."
Sokratis Lazaridis, CEO of the Athens Exchange Group, welcomed Mr. Makepeace and the other guests, noting that: "We are here to honour the two decades of our collaboration with FTSE Russel that heralded the internationalisation of the Greek stock market, and endowed us with the long experience of one of the most popular and experienced index managers.
Over these past twenty years our achievements have been numerous and significant and we believe we will continue on this path in the future. For us, FTSE Russel is a strategic partner. Indexes are a tool capable of effectively bridging financing needs and investment placements, both in and out of Greece.
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On a global scale, there have been three structural changes during this period with regard to indexes: the significant increase of passive management funds, their utilisation as a common point of reference for evaluating active management fund performance, and their use as an underlying asset of the derivatives market, providing risk hedging options.
Based on these developments we have been constantly increasing the products of our collaboration, aiming to offer a wide range of market information support tools. Participating in this new index will be companies with very good dividend yields, even during a period of crisis. Thus investors seeking a steady flow or income will have an extra tool at their disposal".
The "Twenty years FTSE / ATHEX Index Series" historical presentation was made by Mr. Christos Poulakidas, Head of the Market Analysis Division of the Athens Stock Exchange.
A discussion ensued on the subject of: "Indexes as a tool of financial markets", with the participation of Mr. Kimon Volikas, Chairman of the Hellenic Fund and Asset Management Association, Mr. Nikos Koskoletos, Head of Analysis of Eurobank Equities, and Mr. Panagiotis Drakou, Chairman of the Union of Listed Companies, as coordinator.
The members of the panel and the other participants further elaborated on the following:
- The indexes through the Basic Rules of Management and Calculation, and the transparency they impose, transmit a sense of safety and reliability to the market.
- Indexes were found to have a significant contribution in highlighting the accumulated value of listed companies, making them attractive investments.
- The liquidity of the listed securities is a condition for attracting investment funds. The daily trading activity (secondary market) in turn contributes to the effective disclosure of the price, while being a requirement for the success of capital increases (primary market). This sequence generates a virtuous circle of continuous improvement and success.
- They offer the foundation for creating Mutual Funds and ETFs, their use constantly broadening. They are a key structural element for financial products that will accurately track the profile of specific customers.
Attachments:
- Presentation: "Twenty Years TFSE / ATHEX Index Series",
Chris Poulakidas, Head of Market Analysis, Athens Exchange Group
- Presentation: "Indices as a tool of the financial markets",
Kimon Volikas, President, Hellenic Fund & Asset Management Association
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Mr. Mark Makepeace, CV
Mark Makepeace is Group Director of Information Services of London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and Chief Executive of FTSE Russell, the global index provider. He is a member of LSEG's Executive Committee.
Mark started his career in financial services in 1985, when he joined the London Stock Exchange to coordinate "Big Bang" (the deregulation of securities trading in the City of London). In 1995 he founded FTSE International and grew the index business from a small UK start up with nine staff to become one of the largest and most successful global index providers today. He has over 20 years' experience of developing successful joint ventures. He has successfully forged alliances with stock exchanges, academics and leading industry groups around the world. He was a founding member of the Index Industry Association and its first chairman.
Mark has been a long-time supporter of the children's charity UNICEF.
About FTSE Russell
FTSE Russell is a leading global index provider creating and managing a wide range of indexes, data and analytic solutions to meet client needs across asset classes, style and strategies. Covering 98% of the investable market, FTSE Russell indexes offer a true picture of global markets, combined with the specialist knowledge gained from developing local benchmarks around the world.
FTSE Russell index expertise and products are used extensively by institutional and retail investors globally. More than $15 trillion is currently benchmarked to FTSE Russell indexes. For over 30 years, leading asset owners, asset managers, ETF providers and investment banks have chosen FTSE Russell indexes to benchmark their investment performance and create investment funds, ETFs, structured products and index-based derivatives. FTSE Russell indexes also provide clients with tools for asset allocation, investment strategy analysis and risk management.
A core set of universal principles guides FTSE Russell index design and management: a transparent rules-based methodology is informed by independent committees of leading market participants. FTSE Russell is focused on index innovation and customer partnership applying the highest industry standards and embracing the IOSCO Principles. FTSE Russell is wholly owned by London Stock Exchange Group.
For more information, visit ftserussell.com.
