Stoxx has introduced a suite of fixed income indices tracking Eurozone corporate bonds issued by blue-chip companies, with index classifications identified by sector, credit rating or maturity bracket. The Euro Stoxx 50 Corporate Bond Sector, Rating and Maturity Bucket Sub-Indices expand upon the Euro Stoxx 50 Corporate Bond Index, which was launched in April and is the fixed income equivalent of the widely followed Euro Stoxx 50 equity index.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Corporate Bond Index tracks the corporate debt of the constituents of the 50 largest blue-chip companies in the Eurozone.

The sub-indices are highly liquid and have been designed to act as underlying benchmarks for exchange-traded funds and derivatives.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Corporate Bond Index tracks the corporate debt of the constituents of the 50 largest blue-chip companies in the Eurozone. The universe for the index is defined as bonds issued by Euro Stoxx 50 member companies, their respective corporate group and subsidiaries of both. All eligible corporate bonds must have a remaining time to maturity of at least 15 months and a minimum nominal amount outstanding of 750 million euro. A minimum consolidated bond rating of Investment Grade (BBB and higher) is required.

Only euro-denominated fixed and zero coupon bonds are included. The index is market cap-weighted; capping is applied on issuer level at 20% and industry level at 40%.

The new sub-indices represent certain maturity buckets, industries and rating classes of the parent index. The maturity buckets include 1 – 3 years, 3 – 5 years, 5 – 7 years, and more than 7 years. #

There is now also a Euro Stoxx 50 Corporate Bond Financials sub-index, covering exposure to bonds across all maturities issued by Euro Stoxx 50 companies in the financials sector. Additionally, Stoxx has created five Euro Stoxx 50 Corporate Bond Ex-Financials sub-indices, four of which cover exposure to the individual maturity buckets, while one tracks bonds across all maturities.

Lastly, Stoxx has introduced a higher quality “AAA-A” version of the Euro Stoxx 50 Corporate Bond Index, tracking only those bonds within the parent index which have a composite rating of ‘A’ or higher.

Matteo Andreetto, CEO, Stoxx, said: “The different versions and combinations allow the investors to more efficiently and accurately capture their fine-tuned views in European credit markets, helping match desired strategies. All sub-indices are based on our blue-chip equity index Euro Stoxx 50, which is a household name for investors around the world.”