NEW YORK, Aug. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Wilbanks Smith & Thomas (WST), an independent registered investment advisory firm with over $2 billion in assets under management, has selected S&P Dow Jones Indices to calculate the WST Asset Manager - U.S. Equity Index (WSTE).

According to Wilbanks Smith & Thomas, the investment objective of the WST Asset Manager - U.S. Equity Index is to seek long-term capital appreciation, while maintaining a secondary emphasis on generating income. The WSTE Index is comprised of two segments, the "Sector Segment", which is made up of the nine primary sectors of the S&P 500®, and the "Alternative Segment", which is comprised of various fixed income and gold related investments. Allocations between the two segments are based on the Advisor's proprietary quantitative model that seeks to evaluate various relevant financial market factors.

"We are excited for this opportunity to expand our relationship with Wilbanks Smith & Thomas as the calculation agent of their second custom index," says Michael Mell, Associate Director of Custom Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices. "We continue to be dedicated in offering innovative solutions to meet the growing custom indexing needs of the RIA community."

"Wilbanks Smith & Thomas is pleased with the continued opportunity to work with S&P Dow Jones Indices in bringing our second custom index to market," says Wayne Wilbanks, CEO of Wilbanks Smith & Thomas. "Given the unique and successful reputation of S&P Dow Jones Indices, we believe that the continued relationship between our businesses provides tremendous investment information for our clients. As clients are increasingly interested in evaluating historical as well as ongoing performance and risk measures, we believe that this relationship strengthens our ability to serve our clients investing needs."

S&P Dow Jones Indices is an acknowledged global leader in the calculation of custom indices, providing unparalleled services in the design, construction, management and distribution of custom indices.  Drawing on our knowledge and a global database of over 17,000 individual stocks, S&P Dow Jones Indices custom indices provides an independent, flexible and accurate service enabling clients to purposefully design a custom index to meet their specific requirements across equity, commodity and fixed income asset classes.

For more information about the index, please visit: www.customindices.spindices.com/?custom_client_name=wilbanks-smith-thomas-asset-management-llc

For more information 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™, 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.

Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC, a part of McGraw Hill Financial. Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC ("Dow Jones").  These trademarks have been licensed to S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. 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