NEW YORK and WILTON, Conn. (April 4, 2006)â€â€Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, and AIG Financial Products Corp. (AIG-FP), a leader in financial derivatives products and a wholly owned subsidiary of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), today announced the creation of 20 new single-commodity sub-indexes, the largest expansion to date of the Dow Jones – AIG Commodity IndexSM (DJ-AIGCISM) family of indexes.
Each of the new sub-indexes, consisting of a single commodity, is constructed according to the rules of the DJ-AIGCI. There is one sub-index for each of the 19 commodities currently included in the DJ-AIGCI plus a sub-index for cocoa, which was an Index component until 2005. The 19 commodities currently included in the DJ-AIGCI are aluminum, coffee, copper, corn, cotton, crude oil, gold, heating oil, lean hogs, live cattle, natural gas, nickel, silver, soybeans, soybean oil, sugar, unleaded gasoline, wheat, and zinc. Total return versions of each of the new sub-indexes are available as well. The new sub-indexes join 25 other DJ-AIGCI-related indexes and sub-indexes already calculated daily by Dow Jones Indexes and AIG Financial Products Corp. The expansion of the Index family responds to the rapid growth of interest in commodities as an asset class.
Investors are demanding increasingly sophisticated tools to manage their commodity investment as they develop specialized views on specific commodities. These new sub-indexes provide investors with a benchmark for those markets. For example, those investors who invest in sugar or corn in light of the increased use of these commodities in ethanol production can now use the Dow Jones-AIG Sugar Sub-IndexSM and the Dow Jones-AIG Corn Sub-IndexSM as a benchmark for those investments. Investors are also increasingly sensitive to the details of index construction as they can impact commodity index returns, and the new sub-indexes are constructed according to the rules of the DJ-AIGCI.
“The rapid growth of this asset class in recent years has been nothing short of remarkable,†said Michael A. Petronella, president of Dow Jones Indexes/Ventures. “As investor demand for greater flexibility to manage commodity index-based investment has grown, we have responded with new and efficient vehicles to investors seeking tools to measure their exposure to individual commodity futures markets.”
“With approximately $24 billion in assets tracking the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index on a global basis, we think it’s important that commodity investors also have an increased capability to customize their exposure to specific commodities using a benchmark with the credibility of the DJ-AIGCI,†said Joseph Cassano, president of AIG-FP. “While broad commodity indexes remain the best way for many investors to access the asset class from a strategic perspective, other investors may seek to adjust exposure to certain commodities on a more tactical basis.”
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.
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: + 49-69-97142815
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 at AIG Financial Products Corp., +1-203-563-1960
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 AIG Financial Products Corp.
AIG Financial Products Corp. (AIG-FP) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American International Group, Inc. The AIG-FP group has offices in London, Paris, Tokyo, Houston, and Wilton, CT. As a leading participant in the capital and derivatives markets, AIG-FP provides its clients with corporate finance, investment and financial risk management solutions. AIG-FP’s clients include the world’s top corporations, asset managers, insurance companies, banks, investment banks, sovereigns and high-net-worth individuals. AIG-FP is an active trader/dealer in foreign exchange and in a full spectrum of derivative products markets including commodities, credit, energy, equity and rates.
About AIG
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 U.S. on the New York Stock Exchange as well as the stock exchanges in London, Paris, Switzerland and Tokyo.
