NEW YORK, Jan. 24, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Dow Jones Indexes, Wilshire Associates and Wells Real Estate Funds today announced the launch of Wells' newest mutual fund, the first licensed to track the Dow Jones Wilshire Global Real Estate Securities Index.
The Wells Dow Jones Wilshire Global RESI Index Fund marks the first time the full Dow Jones Wilshire Global RESI, launched in March 2006, has been licensed for an investment product.
"As investors increasingly look toward real estate securities globally to diversify their equity portfolios, they require more sophisticated risk measurement tools to benchmark their returns. We launched the Dow Jones Wilshire Global Real Estate Indexes earlier this year to meet this demand, particularly as more institutional and individual investors seek exposure to REITs and real estate operating companies outside the U.S.," said Michael A. Petronella, president of Dow Jones Indexes/Ventures.
The Dow Jones Wilshire Global RESI includes publicly traded securities of real estate operating companies and real estate investment trusts. The Wells Dow Jones Wilshire Global RESI Index Fund (Class A shares: WDGAX, NASDAQ) will seek to provide corresponding investment results by investing in the stocks included in the index.
"We're seeing an explosion of interest in REITs and other investment vehicles around the world," said Leo Wells, president of Wells Real Estate Funds. "Global real estate securities now total nearly $1 trillion in equity. And two dozen countries have created, or are considering, REIT-like structures for investors. We think the time is right to bring this global opportunity to Wells investors."
The Dow Jones Wilshire Global Real Estate Indexes measure the types of global real estate securities that represent the ownership and operation of commercial or residential real estate. These global indexes serve as a proxy for direct real estate investment by institutions. Because actual real estate holdings are bought and sold infrequently, indexing the "market value" of these holdings is slow and problematic, while pension plans and other institutions need a more reliable and regularly available benchmark.
The Dow Jones Wilshire Global RESI Index tracks some 240 real estate operating companies (REOCs) and real estate investment trusts (REITs) in 24 countries. To be included, an operating company or REIT must be an equity owner and operator of commercial or residential real estate and must generate at least 75 percent of its revenue from such assets or operations. It also must meet minimum requirements for market capitalization and liquidity. Securities of certain types of companies, such as mortgage REITs are excluded, as are companies with more than 25 percent of their assets in direct mortgage investments.
About the Dow Jones Wilshire Index Family
The development of the global family of indexes in 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. Now, by extending the Dow Jones Wilshire methodology used in the U.S. internationally, the global indexes provide unprecedented breadth, consistent global coverage, and objective and transparent rules.
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(sm) Composite Index, the only true broad market index, is calculated and distributed by Dow Jones Indexes pursuant to an agreement between Dow Jones & Company and Wilshire Associates Incorporated. The Dow Jones Wilshire Global Total Market Index, the broadest measure of global equities, was launched in October 2006.
About Wells Real Estate Funds
Wells Real Estate Funds is a national real estate investment company based in suburban Atlanta. Since 1984, more than 200,000 people have invested in Wells-sponsored investment programs through their financial representatives. Collectively, these programs own more than $8 billion in assets totaling more than 39 million square feet of space. Wells has launched 18 real estate investment funds since 1984, including a domestic REIT index fund and Wells REIT II, the largest open nontraded REIT today. For more information, see www.wellsref.com.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements can generally be identified by our use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "continue," or other similar words. Readers of this press release should be aware that there are various factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements made in this release. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, changes in general economic and business conditions, industry trends, changes in government rules and regulations (including changes in tax laws), and increases in interest rates. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. This is neither an offer nor a solicitation to purchase securities. Such an offer can be made only by prospectus. For a prospectus, contact Wells Investment Securities, Inc., 6200 The Corners Pkwy., Norcross, Ga. 30092 (tel. 800-448-1010). SEC filings: http://www.wellsref.com/prospectus.html .
Journalists may e-mail questions regarding this press release to PR-Indexes@dowjones.com or contact Dow Jones Indexes/STOXX press office:
New York: +1-212-597-5720 Frankfurt: +49-69-29-725-290
To contact Wilshire Associates public relations, please e-mail kim.shepherd@wilshire.com or call: Chicago: Kim Shepherd, +1-847-332-2987
To contact public relations for Wells Real Estate Funds, please e-mail molcay@rubenstein.com or call Margot Olcay, Rubenstein Communications, New York, (212) 843-8267.
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 including 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 nine 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.