NEW YORK, Feb. 28, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, and SAM, the investment boutique focused exclusively on sustainability investing, today announced they have licensed the Dow Jones Sustainability World Enlarged ex All/AE IndexSM and the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe ex All/AE IndexSM to iShares, the exchange traded funds (ETF) platform of BlackRock Inc. (NYSE:BLK).
The license enables iShares' ETFs to track the performance of the underlying indexes.
iShares' launch today of the two equity ETFs – the iShares Dow Jones Global Sustainability Screened fund and the iShares Dow Jones Europe Sustainability Screened fund – on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), mark the first sustainable ETFs ever to trade on the LSE.
The Dow Jones Sustainability World Enlarged ex All/AE IndexSM, tracks the performance of the most sustainable 20% of companies out of the largest 2,500 companies in the Dow Jones Global Total Stock Market (DJGTSM) Index, minus companies from the following sectors: alcohol, tobacco, gambling, armaments & firearms, and adult entertainment. The Dow Jones Sustainability Europe ex All/AE IndexSM includes the best 20% of companies -- in terms of sustainability -- out of the largest 600 European companies in the DJGTSM Index (with the exclusion of the aforementioned sectors). Both indexes are calculated in euros and US dollars.
In keeping with all Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI), the components for the indexes are selected according to SAM's systematic Corporate Sustainability Assessment, which analyzes company performance in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria. The Dow Jones Sustainability World Enlarged ex All/AE IndexSM contains 460 components and the The Dow Jones Sustainability Europe ex All/AE consists of 139 components.
"The decision by BlackRock -- one of the world's premier asset management companies -- to license two of our sustainability indexes in order to expand iShares' ETF platform demonstrates Dow Jones Indexes' leadership position in this expanding sector," said Michael A. Petronella, president of Dow Jones Indexes. "With our partners at SAM, we believe these indexes reflect the market's demand to invest in responsible companies that are committed to a program of long-term sustainability."
Michael Baldinger, CEO, SAM, commented: "We are pleased to see that our longstanding expertise in sustainability investing is being incorporated into iShares ETFs. We believe these well engineered products will meet investor's needs."
Introduced in 1999, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes are the longest-running benchmarks that track the performance of sustainability leaders on a global scale. Today, the DJSI family is used by asset managers in 19 countries as a benchmark and investment universe for a wide variety of financial products including ETFs, mutual funds, separate accounts and structured products. Aggregate investment volumes in portfolios tracking the global index series now total more than US$8 billion globally.
"We have seen growing demand from clients for ways in which they can incorporate environmental, social and governance considerations into their investments," said Axel Lomholt, Head of Product Development for iShares EMEA. "Thus, in choosing to work with Dow Jones Indexes and SAM, we believe iShares has responded by identifying world-class underlying indexes that enable our ETFs to provide exposure to a universe of stocks expected to deliver long-term shareholder value through sustainability."
For more information on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, please visit or .
Note to Editors:
About Dow Jones Indexes
Dow Jones Indexes () is a leading full-service index provider that develops, maintains and licenses indexes for use as benchmarks and as the basis of investment products. Best-known for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Dow Jones Indexes offers more than 130,000 equity indexes as well as fixed-income and alternative indexes, including measures of hedge funds, commodities and real estate. Dow Jones Indexes employs clear, unbiased and systematic methodologies that are fully integrated within index families. Dow Jones Indexes is part of a joint venture company owned 90 percent by CME Group Inc. () and 10 percent by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. (), a News Corporation company (Nasdaq:NWS) (Nasdaq:NWSA) (ASX:NWS) (ASX:NWSLV) ().
The Dow Jones Indexes logo is available at
About SAM
SAM is an investment boutique focused exclusively on Sustainability Investing. The firm's offering comprises asset management, indexes and private equity. Its asset management capabilities include a range of single-theme, multi-theme and core sustainability investment strategies catering to institutional asset owners and financial intermediaries in Europe, the United States and Asia-Pacific.
Through its index activities, SAM has partnered with Dow Jones Indexes for the publication and licensing of the globally recognized Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) as well as customized sustainability benchmarks. Based on its Corporate Sustainability Assessment, SAM has compiled one of the world's largest sustainability databases and analyzes over 2,000 listed companies annually. SAM's proprietary research and sustainability data are fully integrated into its offerings.
SAM is a member of the global asset manager Robeco, which was established in 1929 and offers a broad range of investment products and services. Robeco is committed to Responsible Investing (RI) and the group-wide implementation of RI principles. Within Robeco, SAM acts as the center of expertise for Clean Tech Private Equity. Robeco is a subsidiary of the AAA (S&P) rated Rabobank Group. SAM was founded in 1995, is headquartered in Zurich and employs over 100 professionals. As of December 31, 2010, SAM's total assets amounted to USD 15.8 billion.
About BlackRock
BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At December 31, 2010, BlackRock's AUM was $3.561 trillion. BlackRock offers products that span the risk spectrum to meet clients' needs, including active, enhanced and index strategies across markets and asset classes. Products are offered in a variety of structures including separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares® (exchange traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions®. Headquartered in New York City, as of December 31, 2010, the firm has approximately 9,100 employees in 25 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information, please visit the Company's website at www.blackrock.com.
About iShares
iShares is the global product leader in exchange traded funds with over 480 funds globally across equities, fixed income and commodities, which trade on 19 exchanges worldwide. The iShares funds are bought and sold like common stocks on securities exchanges and like common stocks, they are subject to investment risk and fluctuation in market value.
The iShares funds are attractive to many individual and institutional investors and financial intermediaries because of their relative low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. However, trading in these funds may result in commissions or other costs that could offset any such savings. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account. The iShares customer base consists of the institutional segment of pension plans and fund managers, as well as the retail segment of financial advisors and high net worth individuals.
"Dow Jones®", "Dow Jones Indexes", "Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes" and all other index names listed above are service marks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC ("Dow Jones"), and have been licensed for use by CME Group Index Services LLC ("CME Indexes"). Investment products based on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Dow Jones, CME Indexes or their respective affiliates and none of Dow Jones, CME Indexes and their respective affiliates make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such products. Inclusion of a company in any of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes does not in any way reflect an opinion of Dow Jones, CME Indexes or any of their respective affiliates on the investment merits of such company. None of Dow Jones, CME Indexes or any of their respective affiliates is providing investment advice in connection with these indexes.
CONTACT: DOW JONES INDEXES CONTACT Rich Silverman Director, Global PR London Phone: + 44 (0) 207 796 7247 New York Phone: +1 212 299 2414 Mobile: +1 646 387 1245 richard.silverman@djindexescom.com www.djindexes.com SAM CONTACT Francois Vetri Head of Communications Josefstrasse 218 CH-8005 Zurich Phone: +41 44 653 10 02 Fax: +41 44 653 10 80 com@sam-group.com www.sam-group.com iShares CONTACT Caroline Hancock 44 (0) 207 743 2103 caroline.hancock@blackrock.com