NEW YORK and SAN FRANCISCO, April 19, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Investors seeking positive environmental, social and human benefits as well as strong financial performance have had limited choices for their portfolios – until now.
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ), CRD Analytics and HIP Investor Inc. today announced the availability of the NASDAQ OMX CRD Global Sustainability Index (Nasdaq:QCRD) as an investable portfolio, offered as a managed account to both institutional and individual investors.
Launched in June 2009, the NASDAQ OMX CRD Global Sustainability Index includes the top 100 global companies leading in transparency and the realization of quantitative results through superior financial, environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. These leading indicators of performance tend to create a portfolio that seeks to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns and an overall positive impact on society.
"Many mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) focus on excluding the negative companies, rather than focusing on the leaders in positive performance," said Michael Muyot, President of CRD Analytics and co-creator of the NASDAQ OMX CRD Global Sustainability Index. "This investable index prioritizes those global firms best positioned for success - financially, environmentally and socially."
NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group helped pioneer the NASDAQ OMX CRD Global Sustainability Index in June 2009, while rival indexers used older methodologies. "As a premier full-service index provider, we have a proven track record of designing innovative indexes that can drive growth and contribute to a better world," said John Jacobs, Executive Vice President of NASDAQ OMX. "Companies in the NASDAQ OMX CRD Global Sustainability Index, now available as a managed account at HIP Investor Inc., are leaders in voluntarily disclosing their current ESG risks, as well as their revenue opportunities, which can lead to improved financial performance."
Institutional and individual investors seeking positive ESG impacts for their portfolios along with potentially favorable financial performance now have choices to fill that need.
"Investors are seeking to diversify their portfolios with leading companies that help address human needs like health care, eco-efficient solutions and access to finance, which can lead to revenue growth," said R. Paul Herman, CEO of HIP Investor Inc., a registered investment adviser and portfolio manager of the NASDAQ OMX CRD Global Sustainability Index managed account. "The companies in this index track and manage their sustainability metrics in their operations and supply chains, and typically integrate sustainability in multiple aspects of their decision-making."
The sustainability-focused portfolio is available as a managed account available to institutional and individual investors and investment advisors via HIP Investor Inc. on the FOLIOfn Investments institutional model-manager exchange platform and the Charles Schwab Institutional®'s Managed Account Platform and Marketplace.
The NASDAQ OMX CRD Global Sustainability Index is an equal-weighted equity index that serves as a benchmark for stocks of companies that are taking a leadership role in sustainability performance and reporting and are traded on a major U.S. stock exchange. The Index is made up of companies that are leaders in disclosing and managing their carbon footprint, energy usage, water consumption, hazardous and non-hazardous waste, employee safety, workforce diversity, management composition and other sustainability leading indicators.
For more information about the NASDAQ OMX CRD Global Sustainability Index, including detailed eligibility criteria, visit .
About NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group
NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group is engaged in the design, development, calculation, licensing, and marketing of NASDAQ OMX Indexes. NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group specializes in the development of indexes focusing on NASDAQ OMX's brand themes of innovation, technology, growth, and globalization. NASDAQ OMX Global Index Group also provides custom index services and design solutions as a third-party provider to selected financial organizations. For more information about NASDAQ OMX indexes, visit .
Access to essential historical index data for NASDAQ OMX indexes can be accessed from a single source, NASDAQ OMX Global Index Watch. For additional information, please visit .
About NASDAQ OMX Group
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world's largest exchange company. It delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents, with approximately 3,600 listed companies. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market, NASDAQ OMX Nordic, NASDAQ OMX Baltic, NASDAQ OMX First North, and the U.S. 144A sector. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and exchange-traded funds. NASDAQ OMX technology supports the operations of over 70 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries. NASDAQ OMX Nordic and NASDAQ OMX Baltic are not legal entities but describe the common offering from NASDAQ OMX exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit . Please follow NASDAQ OMX on Facebook () and Twitter ().
About CRD Analytics
CRD Analytics is the leading provider of independent sustainability investment analytics. Using its proprietary SmartViewTM 360 Platform, CRD Analytics empowers its clients with actionable and performance-driven information distilled from large sets of complex data including financial, environmental, social, governance, brand perception and reputational risk. CRD Analytics partners with its clients to construct proprietary index-based products – Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), separately-managed accounts, mutual funds and Unit Investment Trusts (UITs). For more information about CRD Analytics, go to .
About HIP Investor Inc.
HIP Investor Inc. is a registered investment adviser and portfolio manager of separately managed accounts, including the NASDAQ OMX CRD Global Sustainability Index 100 created by Nasdaq OMX and CRD Analytics. The sustainability-focused portfolios – which also include the HIP 100, a sustainable substitute for the S&P100 - are available to institutional and individual investors and investment advisors via HIP Investor Inc. on the FOLIOfn® Investments' institutional model-manager exchange platform and the Charles Schwab Institutional®'s Managed Account Platform and Marketplace. Like CRD Analytics' approach, the HIP (Human Impact + Profit) methodology focuses on quantifiable human, social and environmental impacts and how they can drive profit. HIP's book, The HIP Investor: Make Bigger Profits by Building a Better World, is published by John Wiley & Sons (). To learn more about the QCRD and HIP managed accounts for your or your clients' portfolios, or assess your portfolio's sustainability impact, go to .
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that are made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the NASDAQ OMX CRD Global Sustainability Index. We caution that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond NASDAQ OMX's control. These factors include, but are not limited to factors detailed in NASDAQ OMX's annual report on Form 10-K, and periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to release any revisions to any forward-looking statements.
Regulatory Disclosures
R. Paul Herman is CEO and a registered representative of HIP Investor Inc., an investment adviser registered in the states of California, Washington and Illinois. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This is not an offer to buy or sell securities, or provide investment recommendations. Any investing risks loss or principal. Always check with your investment and tax advisors in making any portfolio decision.
NASDAQ OMX makes no representation regarding the advisability of investing with HIP Investor Inc. and makes no warranty and bears no liability with respect to any HIP Investor Inc. investment portfolios or strategies (collectively, the "HIP Portfolios"). The HIP Portfolios have not been passed on by NASDAQ OMX as to their legality or suitability, and the HIP Portfolios are not issued, endorsed or sold by NASDAQ OMX. The HIP Portfolios should not be construed in any way as investment advice by NASDAQ OMX. NASDAQ OMX makes no warranties and bears no liability with respect to the HIP Portfolios, the NASDAQ OMX CRD Global Sustainability Index, its use or any data included therein.
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CONTACT: NASDAQ Media Contact: Wayne Lee +1.301.978.4875 Wayne.D.Lee@NASDAQOMX.Com NASDAQ Issuer and Investor Contact: Lisa Chaney +1.301.978.8281 Lisa.Chaney@NASDAQOMX.Com CRD Analytics Media Contact: Michael Muyot +1.212.683.3885 mmuyot@crdanalytics.com HIP Investor Contact: R. Paul Herman +1.415.902.7741 Paul@HIPinvestor.com
