ZURICH, Switzerland, Aug. 30, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- STOXX Ltd., the leading European index provider, today announced the Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index has been licensed to First Trust Portfolios LP to serve as the underlying for an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The First Trust DJ STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index launched today on the American Stock Exchange.
This is the first time the Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index has been licensed as the basis for an ETF in the U.S.
"The Dow Jones STOXX Indexes are the most successful and widely used Pan-European indexes, ranking first in Europe underlying ETFs as well as futures and options, and second in derivatives products worldwide," said Werner Buerki, chairman of the STOXX Supervisory Board. "Since its launch, the popularity of the Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index has grown substantially due to its unique index methodology that weights index components by dividend yield instead of market capitalization. Licensing the index as the basis of an ETF allows market participants to add high-dividend-paying European companies to their portfolios."
Launched in April 2005, the Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index measures the performance of the 30 highest dividend-paying stocks relative to their home markets in Europe. To be included in the Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index, stocks must have a positive, five-year dividend-per-share growth rate, and a dividend-to-earnings-per-share ratio that is less than or equal to 60%.
Index components are weighted by their indicated annual net dividend yield. The highest dividend yielding companies have the heaviest weight in the index. Individual components weightings are capped at 15%. The Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index uses the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index, plus their secondary lines, as underlying index universe and is reviewed annually in March.
The Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index further complements the Dow Jones and Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend Index series, which consists of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index, Dow Jones EPAC Select Dividend Index, the Dow Jones STOXX Global Select Dividend 100 Index, the Dow Jones EURO STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index, the Dow Jones STOXX NORDIC Select Dividend 20 Index, the Dow Jones STOXX EU Enlarged Select Dividend 15 Index, the Dow Jones STOXX Americas Select Dividend 40 Index, the Dow Jones STOXX Asia/Pacific Select Dividend 30 Index, the Dow Jones Select Dividend Indexes for Asia, Asia/Pacific, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, U.K. as well as the Dow Jones SWX Select Dividend 20 Index.
As of August 29, 2007, the Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index has a one year return of 19.57% and a cumulative return of 44.71% since its introduction on April 13, 2005.
Historical data for the Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend 30 Index is available back to December 31, 1998.
Further information on the Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend Index can be found at www.stoxx.com.
The STOXX logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2848
Journalists may email questions regarding this press release to PR-Indexes@dowjones.com or contact Dow Jones Indexes/STOXX press office:
New York: +1-212-597-5720 Frankfurt: +49-69-29-725-290