Standard & Poor's, the world's leading index provider, announced today the launch of the S&P Factor Indices which seek to measure the risk premium inherent between asset classes and financial markets, creating a transparent means for investors to track the spread between a long and short sub-index.
Each index in the S&P Factor Index Series is comprised of an equal-weighted long and short sub-index calculated to reflect the corresponding spread. The Long Sub-Index is comprised of long front futures contracts; the Short-Sub-Index is comprised of short front futures contracts. The objective of each index in the series is to provide investors with exposure to the price difference between Sub-Indices, and in turn, the underlying futures contracts. The Indices are calculated on a real-time basis.
"The S&P Factor Index Series was built to provide investors with the ability to benchmark, or gain exposure to, a broad range of risk premium in the financial markets," notes Steve Goldin, Vice President of Strategy Indices at S&P Indices.
The following factors are represented in the S&P Factor Index Series:
-- Equity Risk Premium: Measures the spread of the U.S. stocks over the
returns of long-term Government Bonds.
-- Non-U.S. Dollar Equity: Measures the spread of the return of U.S.
stocks over the return of the U.S. Dollar Index.
-- Crude Oil - Equity Spread: Measures the spread of the return of Crude
Oil over the return of U.S. stocks.
-- Gold - Equity Spread: Measures the spread of the return of gold over
the return of U.S. stocks.
For more information on the S&P Factor Index Series, including methodology, index calculations and additions/deletions criteria, please visit www.indices.standardandpoors.com.
About S&P Indices
S&P Indices, the world's leading index provider, maintains a wide variety of investable and benchmark indices to meet an array of investor needs. Over $1.25 trillion is directly indexed to Standard & Poor's family of indices, which includes the S&P 500, the world's most followed stock market index, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, the S&P Global BMI, an index with approximately 11,000 constituents, the S&P GSCI®, the industry's most closely watched commodities index, and the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index, the premier investable index for U.S. municipal bonds. For more information, please visit www.standardandpoors.com/indices.
