SANTIAGO, Chile and NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Bolsa de Santiago ("Santiago Exchange") and S&P Dow Jones Indices ("S&P DJI") announced today the launch of the first sustainability index in Chile. The Dow Jones Sustainability Chile Index  is the first of its kind in Chile using the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices' methodology and the first to use the Santiago Exchange's blue chip IPSA Index (Indice de Precios Selectivo de Acciones) as the underlying universe.

The Dow Jones Sustainability Chile Index consists of 12 companies that fulfill certain sustainability criteria better than the majority of their peers within a given industry. The key factor in selecting constituents for any DJSI-branded index is a company's Total Sustainability Score (TSS), calculated using RobecoSAM's annual Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA).

According to the calculation methodology, the Index is comprised of 12 out of the 40 companies currently included within the IPSA Index. In 2016, the Dow Jones Sustainability Chile Index is intended to incorporate new companies once the studied universe of Santiago Exchange issuers broadens from the 40 companies that compose the IPSA Index to the 60 most traded companies -- allowing more companies to have the opportunity to be part of the sustainability index for the Chilean market.

Currently, the 12 Dow Jones Sustainability Chile Index constituents are: AES Gener S.A., Aguas Andinas S.A., Banco de Crédito e Inversiones, Banco Santander Chile, Cencosud S.A., CorpBanca S.A., Empresas CMPC S.A., Inversiones Aguas Metropolitanas S.A., LATAM Airlines Group S.A., SACI Falabella, Sigdo Koppers S.A., Viña Concha y Toro S.A.

"Via this index, the Santiago Exchange seeks to maintain its leadership position in promoting responsible investment," says José Antonio Martínez, CEO of Santiago Exchange. "The companies within the Dow Jones Sustainability Chile Index have not only incorporated sustainable processes into their business, but are also creating value for their shareholders."

"It's very important for the capital market to encourage the transparency of its listed companies and their commitment to environmental, social and corporate governance issues," continues Martínez. "By doing so, investors will have better information about what companies are doing and subsequently can make more sustainable investment decisions over time."

Broader Indexing Agreement

Today also marks the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Santiago Exchange and S&P Dow Jones Indices to explore the possibility of jointly developing new indices for Chilean investors – bringing greater education, insight, and benchmarking prowess to the Chilean financial markets. A signing ceremony was conducted at Santiago Exchange earlier this morning.

"The hallmark of S&P Dow Jones Indices is the integrity of the governance that it brings to all of its indices," says Alex Matturri, CEO of S&P Dow Jones Indices. "For over 125 years, S&P Dow Jones Indices has served as the gold standard for bringing confidence to investors through transparent stock market measures and the potential for innovative financial products through the commercial licensing of our indices. We are very excited to explore the possibility of a partnership with the Santiago Exchange to bring our renowned brand and indexing expertise to Chile by aligning ourselves with one of the premier exchanges in all of Latin America."

Dow Jones Sustainability Chile Index 

The DJSI (Dow Jones Sustainability Indices) use a best-in-class approach to select sustainability leaders. This means that only the most sustainable companies, in industries that meet certain minimum sustainability requirements, are selected for index membership. Therefore, companies must continually intensify their sustainability initiatives to be included or to remain in the Indices.

The Dow Jones Sustainability Chile Index selects the most sustainable companies from a given industry and combines them into a single index ensuring a high sustainability profile for index constituents, while maintaining a balance in terms of industry exposure.  The complete methodology for this index can be found at www.spdji.com.

For more information on S&P Dow Jones Indices, please visit: www.spdji.com. For more information on Santiago Exchange, please visit: www.bolsadesantiago.com.

About Santiago Exchange

Santiago Exchange is the undisputed center of the Chilean capital market, becoming a benchmark of excellence for local and foreign investors.  As a multi asset-class Exchange, it offers a wide range of products: equity, ETFs, futures, fixed income spot and futures, money market instruments, investment fund quotas, mutual funds and foreign securities. Santiago Exchange is fully accessible by local and international investors via DMA connection – for equities, fixed income and derivatives. In 2014, more than 30% of the Equity volumes were traded via DMA, which reflects the strength on the HT Trading Platform, which uses state-of-the-art technology, FIX 4.4 messaging and allows co-location under the Exchange Data Center.

To learn more about our company, please visit www.bolsadesantiago.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 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