ASX

The S&P/ASX 20 highlights the 20 largest stocks by market capitalization in the Australian equities market. The ASX 20 index has a stock ticker code of XTL. It is comprised of the 20 largest stocks by market capitalisation in Australia, emphasising liquidity and investability. Index constituents are drawn from eligible companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. The S&P/ASX 20 is the narrowest, and the core component, of the Australian indices that could be used as building blocks for portfolio construction.

The S&P/ASX 300 provides up to an additional 100 small cap stocks to the S&P/ASX 200. The ASX 300 index has a stock ticker code of XKO. Index constituents are drawn from eligible companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. This index is designed to address investment managers' needs to benchmark against a portfolio characterized by sufficient size and liquidity. S&P/ASX 300 is a component of the Australian indices that could be used as building blocks for portfolio construction.

The S&P/ASX 50 represents the large cap universe for Australia, and is comprised of the 50 largest stocks by market capitalization in the Australian equities market. The ASX 50 index has a stock ticker code of XFL. It comprises the 50 largest stocks by market capitalisation in Australia. The constituent companies represent the biggest national and multi-national publicly listed companies in the Australian equity market. The S&P/ASX 50 index places an emphasis on liquidity and investability. The constituents of the index are reviewed quarterly using the previous six months data.

The S&P/ASX All Australian 200 follows the same index construction rules relating to market capitalization and liquidity that are applied to the S&P/ASX 200 with one distinguishing characteristic – the rules do not extend index eligibility to foreign domiciled securities listed on the ASX. The ASX All Australian 200 index has a stock ticker code of XAT. This feature allows the S&P/ASX All Australian Indices to be more fully representative of the characteristics of Australian listed companies.

The S&P/ASX All Australian 50 follows the same index construction rules relating to market capitalization and liquidity that are applied to the S&P/ASX 50 with one distinguishing characteristic – the rules do not extend index eligibility to foreign domiciled securities listed on the ASX. All Australian 50 index has a stock ticker code of XAF. This feature allows the S&P/ASX All Australian Indices to be more fully representative of the characteristics of Australian listed companies.

The S&P/ASX Emerging Companies Index is the premier benchmark to measure the performance of microcap stocks in the Australian Markets. The ASX Emerging Companies Index has a stock ticker code of XEC. The index provides investors with a tool to effectively analyze characteristics of the microcap segment of the market.

The S&P/ASX Buy-Write Index (XBW) replicates the performance of a well known option trading strategy where the investor holds a long position in a security and then writes (or sells) call options against the long position. The short call position earns option premium for the investor however the short call also limits the potential profit from the long security position.

The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (XDJ) encompasses those industries that tend to be the most sensitive to economic cycles. Its manufacturing segment includes automotive, household durable goods, textiles and apparel and leisure equipment. The services segment includes hotels, restaurants and other leisure facilities, media production and services, and consumer retailing and services.

The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (XPJ) contains the listed vehicles classified as REITs. REITs own property and derive income from rental returns. A REITs sector has been created for the Australian market, where REITs are treated almost as a separate asset class to equity, and are often managed on a separate basis.

The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (XSJ) comprises companies whose businesses are less sensitive to economic cycles. It includes manufacturers and distributors of food, beverages and tobacco and producers of non-durable household goods and personal products. It also includes food & drug retailing companies as well as hypermarkets and consumer super centers.