NEW YORK and WILTON, Conn., July 11, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, and AIG Financial Products Corp., a leader in financial derivatives products and a wholly-owned subsidiary of American International Group, Inc., today announced the creation of five new commodity indexes and sub-indexes. Two of these are sub-indexes of the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index(sm) (DJ-AIGCI(sm)). Two of the indexes are Euro and Yen denominated versions of the existing DJ-AIGCI, and the third is a spot price version of the DJ-AIGCI.
The five new indexes and sub-indexes join the two indexes and seven sub-indexes already calculated daily by Dow Jones and AIG Financial Products Corp. The expansion of the index family responds to the rapid growth of interest in commodities as an asset class.
The five new indexes and sub-indexes are: the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index Euro(sm), the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index Yen(sm), the Dow Jones-AIG ExEnergy Sub-Index(sm), the Dow Jones-AIG Agriculture Sub-Index(sm) and the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Spot Index(sm). Also available are total return versions of each of the new indexes and sub-indexes with the exception of the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Spot Index.
Dow Jones Indexes, in conjunction with AIG Financial Products Corp., is launching the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Euro and Yen Indexes in response to increased demand in Europe and Japan for non-US Dollar denominated commodity indexes. The Dow Jones-AIG ExEnergy Sub-Index will allow investors to track a diversified basket of commodity futures without exposure to energy futures prices, and currently consists of the following 15 commodity futures: Aluminum, Coffee, Copper, Corn, Cotton, Gold, Lean Hogs, Live Cattle, Nickel, Silver, Soybeans, Soybean Oil, Sugar, Wheat, and Zinc.
The Dow Jones-AIG Agriculture Sub-Index consists of the following seven commodity futures: Coffee, Corn, Cotton, Soybeans, Soybean Oil, Sugar, and Wheat.
The Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Spot Index measures the price movements of the commodities included in the DJ-AIGCI. This new spot index provides a general estimate of trends in commodity prices, ignoring the effects of rolling futures contracts and the costs of actually holding physical commodities.
"This expansion of the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index complex will enhance the ability of investors to track specific exposures within this significant asset class. We have responded quickly to investor demand for additional currencies and a wider range of segment subsets," said Michael A. Petronella, president of Dow Jones Indexes/Ventures.
"The new additions to the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index collection of indexes and sub-indexes will be important tools in today's expanding marketplace for commodities products. Interest in commodities is increasingly global in scope, with a focus on the diversification benefits of this asset class," said Joseph Cassano, president and chief executive officer of AIG Financial Product Corp. "Growing numbers of investors are taking a closer look at commodities indexes because returns have historically been negatively correlated with stock and bond returns and positively correlated with inflation measures."
The Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index, a diversified and highly liquid benchmark for the commodities markets, is composed of futures contracts on physical commodities and was introduced in 1998. The new DJ-AIGCI indexes and sub-indexes provide a means for investors to track non-US Dollar-denominated exposures to commodities and to tailor exposures to various commodity sectors. Currently, there is an estimated $15 billion invested in financial products that are tracking the DJ-AIGCI on a global basis.
Journalists may e-mail questions regarding this press release to:
PR-Indexes@dowjones.com or contact a member of the Dow Jones Indexes public relations group:
New York: Sybille A. Reitz, +1-212-597-5735 Frankfurt: Simona Deckers, +49-69-97142894; Nicole Wesch, +49-69-97142893
Alternatively, please contact Keil Decker of Sloane & Company at kdecker@sloanepr.com or call +1-212-446-1875.
For further information regarding the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index, please email djaig@aigfpc.com or call Daniel Raab of AIG Financial Products Corp., +1-203-563-1960.
Note to Editors
Ticker Symbols
A list of the new index ticker symbols is as follows:
Reuters Bloomberg S&P Comstock
DJAIGEU .DJAIGEU DJAIGEU(Index) DJAIGEU
DJAIGEUTR .DJAIGEUTR DJAIGEUT(Index) DJAIGEUTR
DJAIGJY .DJAIGJY DJAIGJY(Index) DJAIGJY
DJAIGJYTR .DJAIGJYTR DJAIGJYT(Index) DJAIGJYTR
DJAIGXE .DJAIGXE DJAIGXE(Index) DJAIGXE
DJAIGXETR .DJAIGXETR DJAIGXET(Index) DJAIGXETR
DJAIGAG .DJAIGAG DJAIGAG(Index) DJAIGAG
DJAIGAGTR .DJAIGAGTR DJAIGAGT(Index) DJAIGAGTR
DJAIGSP .DJAIGSP DJAIGSP(Index) DJAIGSP
The Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index is published on Bloomberg and Reuters and appears daily in the Wall Street Journal. Historical performance is available back to 1991. Additional information is available on the Dow Jones Indexes (www.djindexes.com) and AIG Financial Products Corp. (www.aigfp.com) websites. Dow Jones Indexes also distributes data related to the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index to data vendors and other users.
About Dow Jones Indexes
Dow Jones Indexes is a premier global provider of investable indexes, including the Dow Jones Averages, the Dow Jones Global Titans 50, the Dow Jones Asian Titans 50, the Dow Jones Sector Titans, and the Dow Jones Country Titans Indexes and is co-owner of the Pan-European Dow Jones STOXX Indexes. Dow Jones Indexes is part of Dow Jones & Company, which publishes the world's most vital business and financial news and information.
In addition to Dow Jones Indexes, Dow Jones & Company (NYSE:DJ) (dowjones.com) publishes The Wall Street Journal and its international and online editions, Barron's and the Far Eastern Economic Review, Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch and the Ottaway group of community newspapers. Dow Jones is co-owner with Reuters Group of Factiva, with Hearst of SmartMoney and with NBC Universal of the CNBC television operations in Asia and Europe. Dow Jones also provides news content to CNBC and radio stations in the U.S.
About AIG Financial Products Corp.
AIG Financial Products (AIGFP) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American International Group, Inc. The AIGFP group has offices in London, Paris, Tokyo, Houston, and Wilton, CT. As a leading participant in the capital and derivatives markets, AIGFP provides its clients with corporate finance, investment and financial risk management solutions. AIGFP's clients include the world's top corporations, asset managers, insurance companies, banks, investment banks, sovereigns and high-net-worth individuals. AIGFP is an active trader/dealer in foreign exchange and in a full spectrum of derivative products markets including commodities, credit, energy, equity, and rates.
American International Group, Inc. (AIG), world leaders in insurance and financial services, is the leading international insurance organization with operations in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions. AIG companies serve commercial, institutional, and individual customers through the most extensive worldwide property-casualty and life insurance networks of any insurer. In addition, AIG companies are leading providers of retirement services, financial services and asset management around the world. AIG's common stock is listed in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange and ArcaEx, as well as the stock exchanges in London, Paris, Switzerland and Tokyo.
The information contained herein is being furnished for information purposes only. This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase any security, future or other financial instrument or product. The information contained herein (including historical prices or values) has been obtained from sources that AIG Financial Products Corp. ("AIG-FP") and Dow Jones & Company Inc. ("Dow Jones") consider to be reliable; however, neither AIG-FP nor Dow Jones makes any representation as to, or accepts any responsibility or liability for, the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein. Historical results should not and cannot be viewed as an indicator of future results. Returns for the DJ-AIGCI are estimates using current and historical futures price data. For a more complete description of the DJ-AIGCI, reference is made to the DJ-AIGCI Handbook. "Dow Jones", "AIG(r)", "Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index(sm)", "Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index Total Return(sm)", "DJ-AIGCI(sm)", "DJ-AIGCITR(sm)", "DJ-AIGEU(sm)", "DJ-AIGEUTR(sm)", "DJ-AIGJY(sm)", "DJ-AIGJYTR(sm)", "DJ-AIGSP(sm)", "DJ-AIGAG(sm)", "DJ-AIGAGTR(sm)", "DJ-AIGXE(sm)" and "DJ-AIGXETR(sm)" are trademarks or service marks of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and American International Group, Inc., as the case may be. Dow Jones does not sponsor, promote, or sell any product based on the DJ-AIGCI, and neither AIG-FP nor Dow Jones, nor any of their respective affiliates, makes any representation herein regarding the advisability of investing in any product based on the DJ-AIGCI. Neither AIG-FP nor Dow Jones is an advisor as to legal, taxation, accounting, regulatory or financial matters in any jurisdiction, and is not providing any advice as to any such matter.
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