NEW YORK, June 26, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, and Wilshire Associates, a global leader in investment technology, investment consulting and investment management, today announced the creation of the Dow Jones Wilshire Indexes Advisory Board. The advisory board was established to address worldwide market trends and issues as the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index(sm) expands globally in the second half of 2006.
The eight board members are experts in the areas of money management, investment products, indexing, and pension and retirement plans. The Board will help ensure that the benchmark equity index family represents the most current tools for risk and return assessment.
The board members are:
-- John C. Bogle, President, Bogle Financial Markets Research Center
-- Paul Brakke, Senior Principal, State Street Global Advisors
-- Robert Podgorny, President, National Conference on Public Employee
Retirement Systems
-- Steven Schoenfeld, Chief Investment Strategist, The Northern Trust
Company
-- Wayne H. Wagner, Senior Vice President and Chairman, Plexus Group
-- Ronnee Ades, Senior Director, Institutional Markets, Dow Jones
Indexes
-- John A. Prestbo, Editor and Executive Director, Dow Jones Indexes
-- Robert J. Waid, Vice President and Principal, Wilshire Associates
Mr. Prestbo will serve as chairman of the Dow Jones Wilshire Advisory Board, and Ms. Ades will serve as its executive director.
"The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 is undisputed as the broadest measure of the U.S. stock market today. Designed to meet the needs of institutional investors, the benchmark captures the performance of all domestic equities, and the full index suite breaks the market down further according to size, style and sector," said Michael A. Petronella, president of Dow Jones Indexes/Ventures. "As we develop the global index family - which has been in the works since Dow Jones Indexes and Wilshire Associates teamed up in 2004 and began with the March 2006 launch of the Dow Jones Wilshire Global Real Estate Indexes - we expect our newly appointed Advisory Board to be instrumental in the global expansion process," he added.
"Through the years, both Wilshire Associates and Dow Jones Indexes have sought input from industry leaders as we developed and refined our indexes," commented Dennis A. Tito, chairman and chief executive officer of Wilshire Associates. "We always found the feedback to be extremely helpful and critical to meeting the needs of the various organizations that utilize our indexes. The Dow Jones Wilshire Advisory Board formalizes this practice and we expect the members to be a vital part of the development of the global Dow Jones Wilshire Index family going forward."
Board members will meet regularly to discuss issues facing the institutional investment community and provide counsel from the perspective of the constituencies they represent. They will provide insight on such topics as global market segmentation, methodology construction and effective index weighting systems. The Board will not participate in stock selection for the indexes, however, as the component selection process follows a defined, rules-based methodology.
About the Dow Jones Wilshire Index Family
The development of the global family of indexes, the remainder of which will be available in the second quarter of 2006, marks a new phase of the Dow Jones-Wilshire relationship. The affiliation began in 2004 when Dow Jones and Wilshire co-branded and marketed the Dow Jones Wilshire family of indexes. By extending the Dow Jones Wilshire methodology used in the U.S. internationally, the global indexes will provide unprecedented breadth, consistent global coverage, and objective and transparent rules.
Float-adjusted capitalization-weighted versions of the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000, Dow Jones Wilshire 4500, and Dow Jones Wilshire U.S. RESI and REIT indexes were launched on May 1, 2004. The large-, small- and micro-cap indexes, as well as growth and value indexes, were launched on March 14, 2005. The top 10 industries, as defined by the Industry Classification Benchmark system, were first published in August 2005, followed by the lower ICB hierarchy levels in December 2005.
Dow Jones Wilshire indexes are available on market-data vendor platforms- many in real-time format-and on the Dow Jones Indexes (www.djindexes.com) and Wilshire Associates (www.wilshire.com) Web sites. The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index(sm) is calculated and distributed by Dow Jones Indexes pursuant to an agreement between Dow Jones & Company and Wilshire Associates Incorporated.
Journalists may e-mail questions regarding this press release to PR-Indexes@dowjones.com or contact Dow Jones Indexes/STOXX press office:
New York: 212-597-5720 Frankfurt: 69-29-725-290
To contact Wilshire Associates public relations, please e-mail kim.shepherd@wilshire.com or call: Chicago: Kim Shepherd, 847-332-2987
Note to Editors:
About Dow Jones Indexes
Dow Jones Indexes is part of Dow Jones & Company, which publishes the world's most vital business and financial news and information. Dow Jones Indexes is a premier global provider of investable indexes, including the Dow Jones Averages and the Dow Jones Global, Regional, Country and Sector Titans Indexes and is co-owner of the Pan-European Dow Jones STOXX Indexes. Together with Wilshire Associates, Dow Jones Indexes markets and licenses the Dow Jones Wilshire index family, which includes the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 and its size, style, and sector indexes. Dow Jones Indexes also offers a number of specialty indexes including hedge fund, commodity and credit derivative indexes.
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 and with Hearst of SmartMoney. Dow Jones also provides news content to CNBC and radio stations in the U.S.
About Wilshire Associates
Wilshire Associates is a leading global investment technology, investment consulting and investment management firm with four business units: Wilshire Analytics, Wilshire Funds Management, Wilshire Consulting, and Wilshire Private Markets. The firm was founded in 1972, revolutionizing the industry by pioneering the application of investment analytics and research to investment management for the institutional marketplace. Wilshire also is credited with helping to develop the field of quantitative investment analysis that uses mathematical tools to analyze market risks. All other business units evolved from Wilshire's strong analytics foundation.
Wilshire developed the index now known as the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index(sm), the first asset/liability models for pension funds, the first U.S. equity style metrics work and many other "firsts" as the firm grew to more than 300 employees serving the investment needs of institutional and high net worth clients around the world.
Based in Santa Monica, CA, Wilshire provides services to clients in more than 20 countries representing in excess of 600 organizations with assets totaling more than $12.5 trillion. With eight offices on four continents, Wilshire Associates and its affiliates are dedicated to providing clients with the highest quality counsel, products and services. Please visit www.wilshire.com for more information.
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