S&P Launches Global Thematic Index Series

NEW YORK, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing its expansion into alternative market strategies, Standard & Poor's, the world's leading index provider, announced today the launch of the new S&P Global Thematic Index Series. The new, investable index series includes the S&P Global Clean Energy Index, the S&P Global Water Index and the S&P Global Infrastructure Index.

"Clean energy, water and infrastructure have evolved as major investing themes," says David Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's. "Initially, Standard & Poor's is launching three indices within this series, but we will be watching as other themes take root in the financial markets."

The S&P Global Clean Energy Index, the S&P Global Water Index and the S&P Global Infrastructure Index are comprised of the largest publicly listed companies that meet specific size and liquidity criteria. Each index relies on a unique selection and weighting scheme that provides diversified, global exposure to these investment themes by cutting across traditional regional and industry classifications.

The S&P Global Clean Energy Index is comprised of 30 stocks across 10 countries forming a diversified mix of Clean Energy Production and Clean Energy Technology & Equipment companies. The S&P Global Water Index is comprised of 50 companies across 14 countries that provide balanced exposure to two water related industry clusters -- Water Utilities & Infrastructure and Water Equipment & Materials. The S&P Global Infrastructure Index, which includes 75 companies across 22 countries, is diversified across three infrastructure clusters -- Transportation, Utilities and Energy.

For more information on the S&P Global Thematic Index Series, please visit: http://www.standardandpoors.com/indices.

About Standard & Poor's Index Services

Standard & Poor's Index Services, the world's leading index provider, maintains a wide variety of investable and benchmark indices to meet an array of investor needs. Its family of indices includes the S&P 500, an index with $1.26 trillion invested and $4.45 trillion benchmarked, and the S&P Global 1200, a composite index comprised of seven regional and country headline indices. For more information, please visit http://www.standardandpoors.com/indices.

About Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies , is the world's foremost provider of financial market intelligence, including independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With approximately 8,500 employees, including wholly owned affiliates, located in 21 countries, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for more than 140 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com/.

Standard & Poor's does not sponsor, endorse, sell or promote any S&P index-based investment product.