Solactive is to expand its benchmark offering by launching the Global Benchmark Series, one of the largest projects undertaken by the German index provider.

Steffen Scheuble, CEO of Solactive.

When completed, the series will include around 2,000 equity indices, covering 23 developed and 25 emerging markets based on the Solactive Country Classification Framework.

The indices will also provide investors with access to customizable exposures based on country or regional combinations. They will track underlying markets through dynamic size segments defined in relative market capitalisation terms, accounting for current market developments.

The flexibility and comprehensiveness of the product is underlined by the availability of different size segments, currency versions, weighting schemes and return types for each country.

Tradability of the underlying constituents will be a key feature, ensured by high liquidity and quality standards. The indices will thus be suitable as underlying references for new investment products, including ETFs.

Steffen Scheuble, CEO of Solactive, commented: “Customers have increasingly approached us asking for cost-efficient benchmarks. Thanks to the GBS, customers will not only experience a wider range of choices in the benchmark space but will also have access to more price-competitive solutions compared to what is currently available in the market.”

The GBS suite is being kicked off with the introduction of the Solactive Developed Markets Large & Mid Cap Benchmark Indices. These indices will track the performance of 23 developed countries which will cover the top 85% in terms of free-float market capitalisation.

These will be complemented with the launch of additional size segments (small cap, all cap) over the course of 2018, as well as the Solactive Emerging Markets Benchmarks, which will be delivered in early 2019.

Individual country indices can be merged to form a regional index. This allows for flexibility and the creation of custom equity benchmarks which follow a bottom-up approach. The benchmarks will be made available with both market cap-weighted and equal-weighted versions. They are calculated in three different means (price return, total return, and net total return) and denominated in euro, US dollar and the country’s domestic currency.