NEW YORK, Dec. 17, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, today announced that it has been recognized by the chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means for its accomplishments and contributions to the indexing industry over the past decade.
Congressman Charles B. Rangel honored Dow Jones Indexes before the House of Representatives while in session last Friday. His remarks were entered into the Congressional Record, the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress.
"Congressman Rangel's speech is a special tribute to the talent, hard work and dedication of our team, without whose individual efforts we would not be in a leading position today. This is a perfect ending to what has already been a tremendous year for Dow Jones Indexes. We have had a successful 10 years of creating innovative, cutting-edge indexes and look forward to launching many more in the years to come," said Michael A. Petronella, president of Dow Jones Indexes.
Over the past 10 years, Dow Jones Indexes has grown to become much more than a leading provider of the world's indexes and benchmarks. It has become a house-hold name, synonymous with investing, innovation, and globalization, through the countless indexes launched over that period. Through partnerships with Wilshire Associates, AIG Financial Products Corp., and STOXX Limited -- a joint venture of Dow Jones & Company, Deutsche Boerse and SWX Group -- Dow Jones Indexes has been able to provide investors with unprecedented investment access to the world's growing markets.
Some major indexes include:
-- Dow Jones Wilshire Global Index Family -- Dow Jones STOXX Indexes -- Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Indexes -- Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes -- Dow Jones and Dow Jones STOXX Select Dividend Indexes -- Dow Jones and Dow Jones STOXX Sustainability Indexes -- Dow Jones Target Date and Balanced Portfolio Indexes
On 12/14/07 in the Congressional Record, submitted by Ways and Means Committee Chairman, Congressman Charles B. Rangel:
Madame Speaker:
Today, I would like to recognize an important anniversary in the financial world and at the same time remember a valued colleague. Today is the tenth anniversary of Dow Jones Indexes, an innovation that has made the inner workings of the capital markets more understandable and more accessible to investors. Other Members will no doubt recall that our colleague Guy Vander Jagt represented the company after he left Congress and began his work with Baker & Hostetler here in Washington. Sadly, we lost our former member from Michigan to cancer earlier this year; however, we will always remember his friendship, honesty, and integrity that served his Michigan constituents -- and later his clients -- so well.
Guy Vander Jagt and Dow Jones were a good match. For over a century the name of the Dow Jones & Company has been linked with integrity and business investment in America. Much like other words that have entered the America lexicon in everyday use, "Dow Jones" means stocks and their value on Wall Street to virtually every American. It is remarkable that the Dow Jones Industrial Average is the oldest continuing stock market index in the world. However, over the past 10 years of serving the American people, Dow Jones Indexes has grown far beyond just the time-honored DJ Industrial Average to become a leading authority in the global financial markets, researching, launching and supporting a staggering 130,000 indexes, tracking equity markets and other asset classes around the globe.
For example, The Dow Jones Wilshire Indexes are benchmarks for the entire institutional investing community -- affecting the retirement plans of Americans across the land. The Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Indexes and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes are just two more examples of more specialized Dow Jones indexes that have changed the way the world views these markets. Through expansion and innovation in financial markets, the Dow Jones Indexes have continued to serve as a linchpin of the American financial industry. Indeed, across America and around the world, their innovations have changed the very landscape of investing and the financial community. Today, over $2.1 trillion of assets -- from millions of investors worldwide -- are linked to indexes published by Dow Jones Indexes and STOXX, its joint venture in Europe that is co-owned with Deutsche Borse and SWX, the Swiss Exchange.
Through its growth, Dow Jones Indexes has helped to build awareness and drive the adoption of index-based products as an important investment category, a trend that is widely viewed to benefit investors by offering them diversified, transparent and low-cost investment alternatives. The indexes additionally offer investors tools with which they can appropriately evaluate their portfolio's performance, no matter what its composition.
It is with this background that we wish to recognize the Tenth Anniversary of Dow Jones Indexes and their service to the American people. I would like to recognize John A. Prestbo, one of the first recipients of the William F. Sharpe Indexing Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes the most accomplished innovators and practitioners in the indexing industry. He was awarded this prestigious honor for serving as the long time Editor and now Executive Director of the Indexes group within Dow Jones. Along with the stewardship of Michael Petronella, the group president and over 200 dedicated employees, they continue to innovate and grow and strengthen the vast family of Dow Jones Indexes, and with that growth they have helped to serve, enhance, and protect the dreams of millions upon millions of Americans who are planning their own financial futures
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
Note to Editors:
About Dow Jones Indexes
A full-service index provider, Dow Jones Indexes develops, maintains and licenses indexes for use as benchmarks and as the basis of investment products. Best known for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Dow Jones Indexes also is co-owner of the Dow Jones STOXX indexes, the world's leading pan-European indexes, and together with Wilshire Associates, provides the Dow Jones Wilshire Global Index family, which is anchored by the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 and covers more than 12,000 securities in 59 markets. Beyond equity indexes, Dow Jones Indexes maintains a number of alternative indexes, including measures of the hedge fund and commodity markets. Dow Jones indexes are maintained according to clear, unbiased and systematic methodologies that are fully integrated within index families. www.djindexes.com
Dow Jones & Company (www.dowjones.com) is a subsidiary of News Corporation (NYSE:NWS) (NYSE:NWS-A); (ASX:NWS) (ASX:NWSLV); (www.newscorp.com). Dow Jones is a leading provider of global business news and information services. Its Consumer Media Group publishes The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, MarketWatch and the Far Eastern Economic Review. Its Enterprise Media Group includes Dow Jones Newswires, Factiva, Dow Jones Client Solutions, Dow Jones Indexes and Dow Jones Financial Information Services. Its Local Media Group operates community-based information franchises. Dow Jones owns 50% of SmartMoney and 33% of Stoxx Ltd. and provides news content to radio stations in the U.S.
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