Deutsche Börse Group: Qontigo’s STOXX launches market consultation as part of a reform of the DAX Selection Indices

Deutsche Börse Group: Qontigo’s STOXX launches market consultation as part of a reform of the DAX Selection Indices

(PRESS RELEASE) ZUG, 5-Oct-2020 — /EuropaWire/ — Deutsche Börse Group (ETR: DB1), an international exchange organisation and innovative market infrastructure provider, has announced that STOXX Ltd, Qontigo’s global index provider, launched a market consultation as part of the reform of the DAX Selection Indices. The objective is to introduce extended qualification criteria for index membership in the DAX Selection Indices (DAX, MDAX, SDAX and TecDAX), and to align them with international index standards. High capital market relevance and objectivity must be maintained; at the same time, transparency and predictability must be further strengthened.

Important aspects on which market participants can comment:

Extended qualification criteria:

• Companies must prove their profitability when included in the DAX index
• Requirement of quarterly reporting for inclusion in the DAX index and audited annual reporting in due time for all Selection Indices, with sanctioning options in case of non-compliance up to a deletion from the index (fast exit)
• All members of the DAX Selection Indices must have proof of an audit committee on the supervisory board
• Exclusion of companies with revenues of more than 10% with controversial weapons for inclusion in the DAX Selection Indices

Alignment with international standards:

• Listing on the regulated market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange mandatory for inclusion in the indices, and therefore decoupling from membership in the premium segment Prime Standard, in order to increase flexibility in the management of index rules
• Regular review every six months instead of annually, to be able to implement changes in the capital market landscape more quickly in the DAX index

Transparency and predictability:

• Consideration of free float market capitalization only, as internationally customary; replacement of turnover ranking in the selection process
• Introduction of a minimum liquidity requirement based on turnover on Xetra/Frankfurt Stock Exchange to ensure tradability

In addition, the market opinion is collected with regards to what the optimal number of constituents for DAX, MDAX and SDAX should be (30/60/70 or 40/50/70).

The consultation is open to all market participants until November 4, 2020, 20.00 CET. Market consultations are mandatory for fundamental rule changes, as defined in the rulebook for the DAX Selection Indices (Section 10.3 Material Changes with Consultation).

Further information:

• Market consultation
• Rulebook (Guide to the DAX Equity Indices)
• Overview of the segments of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange

DAX®, MDAX®, SDAX® and TecDAX® are registered trademarks of Qontigo GmbH.

Media contact:
Andreas v. Brevern
andreas.von.brevern@deutsche-boerse.com
+49 69 2 11 14284

About Qontigo

Qontigo is a financial intelligence innovator and a leader in the modernization of investment management, from risk to return. The combination of the company’s world-class indices and best-of-breed analytics, with its technological expertise and customer-driven innovation enables its clients to achieve competitive advantage in a rapidly changing marketplace. Qontigo’s global client base includes the world’s largest financial products issuers, capital owners and asset managers. Created in 2019 through the combination of STOXX, DAX and Axioma, Qontigo is part of Deutsche Börse Group, headquartered in Eschborn with key locations in New York, Zug and London.

About STOXX

STOXX Ltd. is Qontigo’s global index provider, currently calculating a global, comprehensive index family of over 10,000 strictly rules-based and transparent indices. Best known for the leading European equity indices EURO STOXX 50, STOXX Europe 50 and STOXX Europe 600, STOXX Ltd. maintains and calculates the STOXX Global index family which consists of total market, broad and blue-chip indices for the regions Americas, Europe, Asia/Pacific and sub-regions Latin America and BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as well as global markets.
STOXX is the administrator of the STOXX® and DAX® indices under the European Benchmark Regulation and exercises control over all benchmark administration processes within Qontigo.
STOXX indices are licensed to more than 600 companies around the world as underlyings for Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), futures and options, structured products and passively managed investment funds.

Further information
Qontigo website
STOXX website

SOURCE: Deutsche Börse Group