Products April 1, 2009

Dow Jones Introduces Successor to Dow Jones Wilshire Indexes

Dow Jones Indexes has introduced the Dow Jones Total Stock Market Indexes, which will serve as its primary global benchmark family.
Reported by

According to a Dow Jones announcement, the new index series is the successor to the Dow Jones Wilshire Index family, which is being discontinued as Dow Jones Indexes has elected to allow its business relationship with Wilshire Associates to expire on March 31. The Dow Jones Total Stock Market Index family is identical in all aspects to the former Dow Jones Wilshire index family, including methodology, composition, and historical data back to 1987.

The Indexes are available on the same data vendors and distribution platforms as used previously, which will help ensure a seamless transition for index users, Dow Jones said.

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The Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index measures the performance of all U.S. equities with readily available prices. The Dow Jones Global Total Stock Market Index measures the performance of more than 12,000 companies in 65 countries. The Dow Jones Global Select Real Estate Indexes measure the performance of publicly traded real estate securities that represent the ownership and operation of commercial or residential real estate.

At the close of trading Tuesday, the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index measured 4,495 stocks with a float-adjusted market capitalization of $8.5 trillion. Worldwide, the Dow Jones Global Total Stock Market Index tracked 12,119 stocks with a float-adjusted market capitalization of $19.5 trillion.


More information about the Dow Jones Total Stock Market Index family is available at

More information about the Dow Jones Total Stock Market Index family is available at www.djindexes.com/totalstockmarket.

 

 

 

Deals & People April 1, 2009

Report: BofA Might Put Columbia on the Block

Five years after acquiring Columbia Management Group, Bank of America (BofA) might offload the business, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Reported by

The news report said the Charlotte, North Carolina-based BofA also wants to sell First Republic Bank, a private financial institution it inherited as part of BofA’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. last year (see “Merrill Lynch Stockholders Approve BoA Deal’).

As part of its 2004 acquisition of FleetBoston Financial Corp., BofA acquired Columbia, which had $386.4 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2008. BofA could look to shed the investment management firm in an effort to get rid of non-core assets and better hold onto capital reserves

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The Journal said some BofA executives feel Columbia is redundant when compared with BlackRock Inc., a New York money manager that was partly owned by Merrill. BofA has no plans to sell its share of BlackRock, according to the newspaper.

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