Index Industry’s Fourth Annual Benchmark Survey Reveals Significant Growth in ESG Amid Continued Multi-Asset Innovation & Heightened Competition

• More than 40% increase in number of indexes measuring environmental, social & governance (ESG) criteria in the past year, a new record for the survey.

• Indexes covering fixed income markets grew 7.1% in the past year and nearly 15% in the last two years.

• Index providers responded to year of market disruption & global pandemic by not only meeting those challenges but by expanding their global product offerings & diversifying into new asset classes.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Index Industry Association (IIA), the industry trade group for the global independent index provider community, is pleased to share the results of its fourth annual global benchmark survey. This year’s survey shows an industry that is growing and diversifying its products and services to meet expanding investor needs. Main growth drivers this year include indices measuring environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, which saw a 40.2% increase, and fixed income indices, which had a 7.1% increase.

Rick Redding, the CEO of IIA, commented: “The survey’s 2020 results demonstrate a highly competitive industry that continues to broaden its offerings to meet investor demand. Indices today are transparent and reliable representations of market segments covering a wide spectrum of asset classes and investment themes, and an integral piece of the global investor’s toolkit.”

Another Year of Innovation, Growth & Healthy Competition for the Index Industry

While 2020 has been marked by unprecedented levels of market volatility, disruption and investor uncertainty amidst the global Covid-19 pandemic, the overall number of indices climbed by approximately three percent to 3.05 million as investors looked to the IIA members for solutions, unbiased signals and timely data. The IIA members also continued to innovate and diversify, responding to investors’ needs with new offerings, particularly in the ESG and fixed income spaces.

The number of ESG indices globally rose by 40.2% in the past year following a 13.9% rise from 2018 to 2019, registering the highest year-on-year increase in any single major index class in the survey’s four-year history. Fixed income growth has also been steady, with a nearly 15% rise in the number of indices measuring global bond markets over the past two years, with notable growth in the ESG sector within fixed income as product issuers look to build more-diversified and ESG-compliant products. Added Redding, “Delving deeper, growth in fixed income was demonstrated across the full range of index subcategories, whereas equities growth was primarily concentrated in industry/sector, thematic, and ESG-related products.”

About the IIA Annual Benchmark Survey

This survey among IIA members is representative of the index industry and contains historical information submitted to the IIA separately and independently by its members. The IIA does not share the information among its members other than in the aggregate form made available to the public. The amount of assets under management benchmarked to these indices was not in the scope of this project as independent index administrators do not have complete access to this data.

About Index Industry Association (IIA)

IIA is an independent, not-for-profit organization based in New York that provides a voice for the global index industry. Founded in March 2012, the association is the first ever index industry trade body and is committed to representing the global index industry by working with market participants, regulators and other representative bodies to promote competition and sound practices in the index industry to strengthen markets and serve the needs of investors. Our members have calculated indices as far back as 1896 and today administer more than three million indices for their respective clients covering a number of different asset classes including equities, fixed income, commodities and foreign exchange.

Many of the leading index providers in the world are members of the IIA, including Bloomberg Indices, Cboe Global Markets, Chicago Booth Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP), China Central Depository and Clearing, FTSE Russell, Hang Seng Indexes, ICE Data Services, IHS Markit, Morningstar Indexes, MSCI Inc., Nasdaq Global Indexes, Shenzhen Securities Information Co., Ltd., S&P/Dow Jones Indices, Tokyo Stock Exchange and Qontigo (formerly STOXX). Visit the IIA website for more information at www.indexindustry.org.