NEW YORK, July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices ("S&P DJI"), one of the world's leading index providers, announced today that it will administer its benchmarks in alignment with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) Principles for Financial Benchmarks.

S&P DJI operations were already largely aligned with the principles put forth by the IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks, such as separate commercial and governance functions and rigorous methodological policies to name just a few.  The independent corporate audit function at McGraw Hill Financial, S&P DJI's parent company, has now conducted its comprehensive review of S&P DJI's alignment with the IOSCO Principles, and will issue its findings and will continue to conduct annual reviews as called for in the IOSCO Principles.  

"S&P Dow Jones Indices is fully supportive of IOSCO's position that benchmark administrators should be free of potential conflicts of interest," says Alex Matturri, CEO of S&P Dow Jones Indices. "We strongly believe that an index provider should not be allowed to manage, trade, or issue investment products based upon its indices. The IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks are very much in line with how S&P Dow Jones Indices has transparently and independently governed its indices for over 115 years."

S&P DJI has been publishing financial market indices since 1896 with the launch of the Dow Jones Industrial Average™, one of the best-known icons of American culture and among stock market observers around the world. The launch of the S&P 500® in 1957 was an innovative milestone in gauging the overall health of the US equity markets and changed the way that investors would eventually measure and trade the markets. Today, S&P Dow Jones Indices publishes more than 1,000,000 indices on a real-time or end-of-day basis, each built and governed on the basis of transparency, integrity, objectivity, and independence.

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 1,000,000 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.

For more information:

David R. Guarino
S&P Dow Jones Indices
Director, Global Head of Communications
dave.guarino@spdji.com
+ 1 212 438 1471

SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices