Index Links
Major index providers license the use of their indexes as the basis of investment products - index funds, ETFs, and listed and OTC index derivatives. Financial firms that have an interest in creating products based on popular indexes require a license for the use of the intellectual property inherent in the indexes. The information below can be used for your first contact with the index providers.

For many firms, licensing is a major part of their business, and they often have dedicated staff and resources to assist their licensees in product development and marketing. For more background on the business of index providers, and the role they play in index product innovation, see Chapters 5, 7 and 14 in Active Index Investing (John Wiley & Sons, 2004).
 
 
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. has several indexes in which financial products are benchmarked: NASDAQ Composite Index®, Nasdaq-100 Index and the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index. Additionally, the NASDAQ-100 Index Tracking StockSM - QQQSM is also a particular product that can be licensed for benchmarking. To use these indexes in a financial product NASDAQ requires the company to become a licensee. Interested parties should contact Rebecca Cameron at Rebecca.Cameron@nasdaq.com for more information.


9513 Key West Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850

Contact Information
Leslie Bosch, Licensing Director
leslie.bosch@nasdaq.com
Telephone: (301) 978-8280
Fax: (301) 978-8431

 
DOW JONES INDEXES
Dow Jones Indexes licenses its index families to qualified institutions for use as the basis of index-related investable products. Available for licensing are more than 5,000 indexes, including the Dow Jones Blue-Chip, Benchmark and Specialty Indexes. Under certain circumstances, customized indexes may be created to meet institutions' specific needs.


P.O. Box 300, Princeton, NJ 08543

Contact Information
Americas - Telephone: +1 609 520 7145
Europe Telephone: +41 58 854 54 00
Asia Telephone: +41 58 854 54 00

 
RUSSELL
Russell Indexes are widely used by participants in the financial marketplace as benchmarks and have increasingly become adopted as the basis for several financial instruments including options, futures, exchange-traded funds, index annuities, and index funds. In order for an institution to provide index-related products based on the Russell Indexes, a license from Frank Russell Company is required. Additionally, Russell Index data can be licensed for redistribution through third party proprietary software and hardcopy reports. A license is also required to redistribute Russell Index data in any form.


909 A Street, Tacoma, WA 98402

Contact Information
Kevin Lohman, Director, Global Sales,
klohman@russell.com

Telephone: (301) 978-8280
Fax: (301) 978-8431

 
STANDARD & POOR´S
Standard & Poor's Indexes provides a global family of index products for the benchmarking of financial performance for market professionals. Also provides investment portfolio strategies and stock selection services. Services include: Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), Indices, Investment Advisory Services, and Customized Portfolios.
www.indices.standardandpoors.com

*For S&P Indexes overseas clients:
Christopher O'Brien
Europe/Asia VP Marketing and Sales
116 Rue Reaumur
Paris 75002 France
tel. 331 40 28 77 91
fax 331 40 28 07 79

christopher_o'brien@standardandpoors.com


55 Water Street, 42nd Floor
New York, NY 10041

Contact Information
Larry Olsen, Americas VP Marketing and Sales
lawrence_olsen@ standardandpoors.com

Telephone: (212) 438-3553
Fax: (212) 438-3523

 
FTSE
FTSE calculates and manages the FTSE Global Equity Index series, which includes world-recognized indexes ranging from the FTSE All-World Index, the FTSE4Good series and the recently launched Global Small Cap Index Series, as well as the prestigious FTSE 100. The company has collaborative arrangements with the AMEX, Athens, Cyprus, Euronext, Johannesburg, London, Luxembourg, and Madrid exchanges, as well as with Nikkei of Japan (Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc), and Xinhua Financial Network of China. FTSE recently signed an agreement with Dow Jones Indexes to develop a single classification system for global investors, named the Industry Classification benchmark (ICB).


1330 Avenue of the Americas
New York NY 10019

Contact Information
Cheryl Goodnow
Exec. VP, Global Distribution
cheryl.goodnow@ftse.com

Telephone: (212) 641-6163
Fax: (212) 641-6190

 
MORNINGSTAR INDEXES
Consistent and stable methodology, objective rules, and a name that evokes trust and confidence among investors worldwide make the Morningstar Indexes perfect vehicles for creating index-linked investment products, such as funds, Exchange Traded Funds and derivatives. Services include real-time index data distribution, back history, constituent data feeds, index data feeds, and Internet tools.


225 W. Wacker Dr. Chicago, IL 60606

Contact Information
Sanjay Arya
Director, Morningstar Indexes
sanjay.arya@morningstar.com

Telephone: (312) 696-6507
Fax: (312) 696-6630

 
MSCI Barra
A wide variety of financial products can be based on, or linked to, MSCI Indices, including institutional index accounts and index based mutual funds. Any institution that develops or manages products or services based on, or linked to, MSCI Indices requires a license from MSCI Barra. MSCI Barra has licensed its indices to some of the leading providers of exchange traded funds (ETFs), index funds, insurance products, warrants and listed futures and options. Many of the major global broker dealers have also been licensed for the purpose of creating OTC derivative products and for portfolio trading services.


Contact Information

clientservice@mscibarra.com
Americas: +1 888 588 4567
London: +44 20 7618 2222
Hong Kong: +852 2848 7333
Tokyo: +81 3 5226 8222

 
 
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