NEW YORK, April 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices announced today the launch of the S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index which is designed to measure the performance of the highest dividend yielding companies within the S&P Global Broad Market Index (BMI) that have followed a policy of increasing or stable dividends for at least 10 consecutive years. The Index launch expands the widely recognized S&P Dividend Aristocrats Index family which includes the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats and S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats amongst others. The S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index has been licensed to State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) for the creation and launch of an ETF.

"Dividend income has been an important theme throughout 2012 and going into 2013 for various reasons chiefly because of the low interest rate environment that has reduced investor options from traditional income generating asset classes," says Vinit Srivastava, director of strategy indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices. "Increasingly, investors looking for equity income are focusing on quality but are not constraining themselves by geographies. The S&P Dividend Aristocrats series of indices rely on stringent dividend growth criteria combined with other stability conditions. S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index applies this framework to a global universe."

The S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index is part of the S&P Dividend Aristocrats family. The Index methodology aims to achieve a balance between high dividend yield and dividend sustainability and growth. It incorporates criteria on dividend payout ratio and maximum indicated dividend yield, to exclude companies whose future dividend payout may be considered potentially less sustainable. The S&P Global Dividend Aristocrats Index is weighted by indicated annual dividend yield to tilt the portfolio towards companies with higher dividend yields.

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SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices

SOURCE: S&P Dow Jones Indices