DJ expands EU dividend index

Dow Jones has expanded its European Select Dividend Index Series to include the enlarged European Union (EU). The Dow Jones Stoxx EU Enlarged Select Dividend 15 Index is the first index that measures the performance of high-dividend yielding stocks in the 12 countries that have joined the EU since May 2004. It tracks the 15 highest dividend-yielding stocks in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia and is designed to underline financial products, including structured products.

The Dow Jones Stoxx EU Enlarged Select Dividend 15 Index follows the same concept of the select dividend index series, which weights by dividend yield, not by market capitalisation, says Lars Hamich, Frankfurt-based managing director of STOXX Ltd. The index has an annualised performance of 34.4 % since December 31, 2002 and it has outperformed the Dow Jones Stoxx EU Enlarged 15 Index by 48% over a period of one year as of January 31, 2007.

To be eligible for inclusion in the Dow Jones Stoxx EU