NEW YORK, Aug. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices announced today the launch of the S&P Brazil Dividend Indices (the "Indices") which seek to track the performance of dividend paying securities focused on the Brazilian market – considered one of the fastest-growing emerging markets in terms of gross domestic product. The Indices have been licensed to BB DTVM, Banco do Brasil Asset Management, for the creation of index-linked products.

"The concept of dividends in emerging markets has been growing in popularity in recent years as growth in those markets has slowed," says Vinit Srivastava, director of strategy indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices. "Over the past 15 years, dividends have increasingly contributed to Brazil's broad market returns as measured by the S&P Brazil Broad Market Indices (BMI), accounting for over a quarter of the market's total returns during that period. The S&P Brazil Dividend Indices are some of the first dividend-focused indices in the Brazilian market that specifically look at stocks' dividends as a way to capture growth and maximize yield."

The S&P Global BMI serves as the primary universe of the S&P Brazil Dividend Indices. The Index family is comprised of three indices:

• The S&P Dividend Aristocrats Brasil Index tracks the performance of the 30 S&P Brazil BMI constituents that have consistently increased or maintained stable dividends every year for at least three years.
• The S&P Brazil Dividend Opportunities Index measures the performance of 40 of the highest yielding constituents of the S&P Brazil BMI that meet size, liquidity and profitability criteria.
• The S&P Brazil Dividend Opportunities SmallMidCap Index is designed to measure the performance of 25 of the highest yielding small cap and mid cap constituents of the S&P Brazil BMI that meet size, liquidity and profitability criteria.

To learn more about S&P Dow Jones Indices, please visit: www.spdji.com. 

About S&P Dow Jones Indices
S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a part of McGraw Hill Financial, 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^TM, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC has over 115 years of experience constructing innovative and transparent solutions that fulfill the needs of 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 asset 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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SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices