S&P Indices Launches Emerging Market, International Developed Low Volatility Indices

NEW YORK, Dec. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Expanding its family of low volatility indices to include constituents from outside of the United States, S&P Indices announced today the launch of the S&P BMI International Developed Low Volatility Index and the S&P BMI Emerging Markets Low Volatility Index. Earlier in the year S&P Indices launched a low volatility version of the S&P 500.

S&P Indices' Low Volatility family of indices are designed to measure the performance of the least volatile stocks within their respective benchmark index. The S&P BMI International Developed Low Volatility Index measures the performance of the 200 least-volatile stocks in the S&P Developed Ex US & South Korea LargeMidCap Index. The S&P BMI Emerging Markets Low Volatility Index measures the performance of the 200 least volatile stocks in the S&P Emerging Plus LargeMidCap Index.

Both the S&P BMI International Developed Low Volatility Index and the S&P BMI Emerging Markets Low Volatility Index have been licensed by S&P Indices to Invesco PowerShares to serve as the basis for PowerShares ETFs in 2012.

"Given the high level of volatility within emerging and developed equity markets, investors looking for exposure outside of the U.S. are increasingly concentrating their efforts on lower risk strategies," says Alka Banerjee, Vice President at S&P Indices. "The S&P BMI International Developed Low Volatility Index and the S&P BMI Emerging Markets Low Volatility Index rely on a simple, transparent model for constituent selection, making these indices an obvious choice for investors seeking to benchmark their low volatility or low variance strategies and for issuers looking to create products based on a low volatility premise."

"We are delighted to be expanding our successful relationship with S&P Indices to include low volatility emerging and developed markets strategies," says Ben Fulton, Invesco PowerShares managing director of global ETFs.

For more information, include the complete methodology, please visit: www.standardandpoors.com/indices.

About S&P Indices

S&P Indices, a leading brand of the McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), 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.

It is not possible to invest directly in an index. S&P Indices does not sponsor, endorse, sell or promote any S&P index-based investment product. This document does not constitute an offer of services in jurisdictions where S&P Indices or its affiliates do not have the necessary licenses. Standard & Poor's receives compensation in connection with licensing its indices to third parties.

SOURCE S&P Indices