NEW YORK, July 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's, the world's leading index provider, announced today a number of policy revisions and clarifications:
Firstly, S&P is updating the market cap guidelines for its U.S. indices. As of today, the new guidelines are:
-- S&P 500 - $5 billion or greater
-- S&P MidCap 400 - $1.5 billion to $5.5 billion
-- S&P SmallCap 600 - $300 million to $2 billion
"Standard & Poor's feels that the new market cap ranges for its U.S. indices are appropriate, based on our review of recent market activity, comments from index users and the current U.S. market cap distribution," says David Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee.
The guidelines refer to a company's total market capitalization, not its float-adjusted cap. In evaluating candidate companies, the Index Committee will continue to consider their current market value in the context of their average market value over the previous 12 months, or for as long as possible if less than one year's data is available.
Additionally, as a matter of clarification, business development companies (BDC's) are considered operating companies for index purposes, and are therefore eligible for admission to the U.S. indices.
Finally, stocks whose primary listing is on the NYSE Arca exchange are now eligible for U.S. index admission.
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 7,500 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/.
About The McGraw-Hill Companies:
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2006 were $6.3 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.
