NEW YORK, July 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices ("S&P DJI"), one of the world's leading providers of financial market indices, today announced the launch of the S&P Quality Indices. The index family is designed to measure high quality stocks in the global equity markets on the basis of their quality score, which is calculated based on three fundamental measures – return on equity, accruals ratio and financial leverage ratio.

The launch follows the launch of Low Beta and Intrinsic Value indices earlier this year. Factor-based indices are strategy indices that seek to capture performance characteristics differently than traditional cap-weighted benchmarks. S&P DJI has been offering factor-based indices for years beginning with an equal weighted version of the S&P 500^® in 2003.

"Quality is a risk factor that is distinct from other known factors like size, value, momentum, and low volatility," says Vinit Srivastava, Senior Director of Strategy Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices. "The launch of the S&P Quality Index family provides investors with a factor-based benchmark that captures the characteristics of high quality companies."

The index family consists of 12 headline indices that cover major global regions and countries. The S&P Quality Indices are constructed from the constituents of the S&P Global Broad Market Index (BMI) or other headline benchmark indices. Each stock in the S&P Quality Indices is weighted by its quality score multiplied by its float-adjusted market capitalization.

The indices launched today include:

• S&P Quality Global LargeMidCap Index
• S&P Quality Developed LargeMidCap Index
• S&P Quality Developed Ex-U.S. LargeMidCap Index
• S&P Quality Developed Ex-Japan LargeMidCap Index
• S&P Quality Emerging LargeMidCap Index
• S&P Quality Europe LargeMidCap Index
• S&P Europe 350 Quality
• S&P Quality Pan Asia LargeMidCap Index
• S&P Quality Pan Asia Ex-Japan LargeMidCap Index
• S&P Quality Japan LargeMidCap Index
• S&P 500® Quality
• S&P Quality United States LargeMidCap Index

For more information, including the complete methodology, 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 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.

S&P® is a registered trademark of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC ("S&P"), 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