S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) has created and licensed the S&P Europe 350 Shareholder Yield Low Volatility Index to Commerzbank AG.
The index aims to achieve a balance between shareholder yield, a measure of total return to shareholders, and volatility.
The index is designed to measure the 50 companies that offer a high shareholder yield within the S&P Europe 350 with the least volatility. The constituents are equally weighted and the index will be rebalanced quarterly.
Vinit Srivastava, senior director, S&P Dow Jones Indices, says: “We’re excited to launch this new index and provide investors with an innovative way to measure shareholder return. Shareholder yield is a combination of dividends paid and buybacks executed. Companies have the flexibility to choose either of the forms to return capital to shareholders depending on market conditions which determine the most effective option. The S&P Europe 350 Shareholder Yield Low Volatility Index is the first index that takes this into account.”
Raphael Rollin, equity derivatives product engineering, Commerzbank Corporates & Markets, says: “We are very pleased with the launch of the S&P Europe 350 Shareholder Yield Low Volatility Index which brings a new innovative concept to investors. In our view, the Index addresses our clients’ needs, using a simple and transparent strategy to capture a new source of outperformance in the European stock market. Ultimately, Commerzbank aims to provide clients with its market expertise and a full range of products linked to the index, including options, swaps, warrants and certificates.”
