NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices, the world's largest provider of financial market indices, announced today that Dr. David Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee, has been awarded the William F. Sharpe Indexing Lifetime Achievement Award. This distinguished award recognizes the most accomplished innovators and practitioners in the indexing industry.

The William F. Sharpe Indexing Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented on Monday, December 3, 2012 at the IMN's annual Global Indexing and ETFs conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

"I can't think of anyone more deserving of this recognition than David. He has been a brilliant and uncompromising presence at McGraw-Hill for more than 32 years, leading with integrity and the highest principles. I am so pleased he will be listed among the most innovative and accomplished in the industry," says Harold McGraw III, chairman, president and chief executive officer of McGraw-Hill.

"Throughout his career, David has consistently been a voice of authority and knowledge, bringing insight and innovation to the global investing arena. We are thrilled that IMN has recognized his outstanding contribution to the index industry," says Lou Eccleston, Chairman of the Board of S&P Dow Jones Indices.

"David has served as a pioneering visionary for the indexing business since taking the reins as S&P's index committee chairman in 1995. He knew that for indices to serve as reliable benchmarks and as the basis for investment products, they would need to be developed and maintained with unparalleled levels of integrity and transparency. Only then would index investing grow and indices be recognized and trusted as legitimate, representative measures of market performance. Today, the foundation of our business is built upon these principles," says Alexander Matturri, chief executive officer of S&P Dow Jones Indices.

David M. Blitzer is managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices with overall responsibility for index security selection, as well as index analysis and management. Prior to becoming Chairman of the Index Committee, Dr. Blitzer was Standard & Poor's Chief Economist.  Before joining Standard & Poor's, he was Corporate Economist at The McGraw-Hill Companies, S&P Dow Jones Indices' parent corporation.

In the year 2000, Dr. Blitzer was named to SmartMoney magazine's distinguished list of the 30 most influential people in the world of investing, which ranked him seventh, and in the year 1998, Dr. Blitzer was named the nation's top economist, receiving the Blue Chip Economic Forecasting Award for most accurately predicting the country's leading economic indicators for four years in a row.  A well-known speaker at investing and indexing conferences, Dr. Blitzer is often quoted in the national business press, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Financial Times, and various other financial and industry publications.  He is frequently heard on local and national television and radio.

Dr. Blitzer is also the author of Outpacing the Pros: Using Indices to Beat Wall Street's Savviest Money Managers, (McGraw-Hill, 2001) and What's the Economy Trying to Tell You? Everyone's Guide to Understanding and Profiting from the Economy, (McGraw-Hill, 1997).  He is also co-creator of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the nation's most widely followed measure of U.S. home prices.

Prior to joining McGraw-Hill in 1980, Dr. Blitzer as a Senior Economic Analyst with National Economic Research Associates, Inc. and did consulting work for various government and private sector agencies including the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the National Commission on Materials Policy and Natural Resources Defense Council.

A graduate of Cornell University with a B.S. in engineering, Dr. Blitzer received his M.A. in economics from the George Washington University and his Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University.

About S&P Dow Jones Indices
S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a subsidiary of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., is the world's largest, global resource for index-based concepts, data and research. Home to iconic financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500^® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average^SM, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC has over 115 years of experience constructing innovative and transparent solutions that fulfill the needs of institutional and retail investors. More assets are invested in products based upon our indices than any other provider in the world. With over 830,000 indices covering a wide range of assets classes across the globe, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC defines the way investors measure and trade the markets. To learn more about our company, please visit www.spdji.com.

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It is not possible to invest directly in an index.  S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, Dow Jones, S&P and their respective affiliates (collectively "S&P Dow Jones Indices") do not sponsor, endorse, sell, or promote any investment fund or other investment vehicle that is offered by third parties and that seeks to provide an  investment return based on the performance of any index. This document does not constitute an offer of services in jurisdictions where S&P Dow Jones Indices does not have the necessary licenses. S&P Dow Jones Indices receives compensation in connection with licensing its indices to third parties.

SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices