Standard & Poor's is zeroing in on volatility levels in four indexes within its Emerging Market and Global Thematic Index Series, indexes that have turned in terrible performance amidst the market crisis.

The volatility targeting approach has been common in the structured products arena, but is new to the indexing world, S&P said in a statement. The risk control indexes work by setting a specific volatility target based on the historical volatility of an underlying index, and monitoring that level to make sure it remains constant.

If the risk level moves above the established target, the cash level is increased in order to maintain the target volatility. If the risk level moves below the threshold, the index will employ leverage to maintain the target volatility.

The risk control index overlay will be applied to the S&P BRIC 40 Index, S&P Latin America 40 Index, S&P South East Asia 40 Index and S&P Global Infrastructure Index.

A look at recent performance in exchange-traded funds linked to these indexes lends credence to the belief that queasy investors might be looking for a little more in the way of risk control. The SPDR S&P BRIC 40 ETF (NYSE Arca: BIK) is down 54.23%, year-to-date, through Oct. 31. The iShares S&P Latin America 40 Index Fund (NYSE Arca: ILF) is down 48.99% in the past one year, through Oct. 31.

The four debut risk control indexes and their target levels of risk are:

• S&P BRIC 40 Risk Control 18% Index
• S&P Latin America 40 Risk Control 18% Index
• S&P South East Asia 40 Risk Control 18% Index
• S&P Global Infrastructure Risk Control 12% Index