Financial Times And Stock Exchange Group, the global index company, and Conflict Securities Advisory Group, the preeminent research provider specializing in terror-free investment screening and certification services, today announce the launch of the FTSE CSAG Terror-Free Index Series, which is based on the FTSE Global Equity Index Series. The indexes will begin disseminating on Monday, March 31.
The FTSE CSAG Terror-Free Index Series has been devised in response to exclusion requirements being adopted by US state governments, public and private organizations and investor demand. Nineteen US states, including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Missouri and Louisiana have proposed or enacted legislation requiring state plan sponsors to divest from international companies with active business ties to terror-sponsoring countries. Definitions vary by state with terror-sponsoring countries most commonly identified as Iran, Sudan, Syria and North Korea.
By applying CSAG's screening process to FTSE's All-World ex-US, Financial Times And Stock Exchange All-World Developed ex-US and FTSE All-World Emerging ex-US indexes, the FTSE CSAG Terror-Free indexes screen out companies with active or current non-humanitarian business ties in or with countries that expose them to global security risk, including Iran, Sudan, Syria and/or North Korea. The FTSE CSAG Index Series can assist pension plans in complying with new state legislation and meeting exclusion mandates while allowing them to continue to implement existing international investment strategies.
Companies excluded from the FTSE CSAG Terror-Free indexes were informed prior to finalizing the construction and given a chance to respond to CSAG's assessment of their business operations.
In a joint statement, Financial Times And Stock Exchange Americas President Jerry Moskowitz and CSAG President and Chief Executive Roger Robinson commented, "FTSE and CSAG identified demand from institutional investors in the US for the option to invest terror-free and have introduced this new index series to meet it. The FTSE CSAG Terror-Free Index Series is also tradable and suitable for the creation of retail investment products such as ETFs and Mutual Funds." -- www.ftse.com
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