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FTSE Group, the award-winning global index provider, today confirms the March results of the bi-annual FTSE4Good index series review. Globally, 23 companies will be added and 16 companies will be removed from the index series, which is designed to track the performance of companies that meet globally recognized corporate responsibility standards. Changes to the indexes are effective from start of trading on Monday 23rd March 2009.
Responsible investment has become a key theme globally, as investors become increasingly conscious of environmental issues such as climate change and corporate responsibility. FTSE4Good indexes aid investors in tracking the performance of environmentally and socially responsible companies based on transparent criteria that represent continually evolving global standards of excellence in corporate responsibility practices. Companies entering the index series have demonstrated that they are able to meet the full FTSE4Good inclusion requirements, while those deleted no longer meet one or more these standards.
French holding company Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), is the largest company to be added at the March review, as measured by USD market capitalization. The company will re-enter the index series after having been deleted in March 2007. Other large companies to be added include US-based Life Technologies, T&D Holdings of Japan, Danske Bank of Denmark, and Australia’s Qantas Airways. The table below illustrates the number of companies that are joining and leaving the FTSE4Good index series by country:
|
Country |
No
of additions |
No
of deletions |
|
Australia |
1 |
0 |
|
Canada |
0 |
1 |
|
Denmark |
1 |
0 |
|
Finland |
1 |
0 |
|
France |
1 |
2 |
|
Germany |
0 |
1 |
|
Japan |
5 |
6 |
|
United
Kingdom |
11 |
1 |
|
United
States |
3 |
5 |
|
TOTAL |
23 |
16 |
The FTSE4Good inclusion criteria are enhanced regularly and demand continued improvement of corporate responsibility practices in order for companies to gain or maintain inclusion in the index. FTSE’s Responsible Investment Unit engages directly with affected companies and provides support and guidance in understanding the inclusion criteria, which cover environmental management, climate change, human and labour rights, and countering bribery criteria.
A summary and explanations for additions and deletions can be found online at www.ftse.com/Indices/FTSE4Good_Index_Series/Index_Reviews.jsp. Since the FTSE4Good index series launched in 2001 over 600 companies have been added at the semi-annual reviews, while over 250 have been deleted.
