In today’s financial world, an index no longer just tracks the performance of an asset group, market or industry. It has evolved into a tool for investors to gain insights into trends – past, present and future – of investment products, and for asset managers to design customized solutions that can tap into new investment opportunities.

Indices have also transformed themselves into critical tools for managing and organizing the explosion of data sweeping across financial markets amid the rapid advance of digitalization and technology.

Although these trends have been evolving over the years, they have become more evident in 2023 in the midst of intense competition among index providers that are attempting to position themselves in a highly dynamic market.

In Asia-Pacific, the indexing industry continues to be dominated by the global index providers, but their regional peers are also finding opportunities for developing and expanding their businesses.

One major trend that is driving the industry is the move away from market cap indices, a development that has emerged from the overconcentration of certain indices in big-cap stocks at the expense of the midcaps and small caps.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the US equity market where the “Magnificent Seven” stocks (Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla) now account for 37% of the S&P 500, one of the most widely used benchmarks in the US stock market.

Although these stocks have strong fundamentals and are performing remarkably well, the fact that only seven stocks from a single sector account for more than a third of the market cap of the S&P 500, which includes over 500 stocks and 11 sectors, can be worrisome, to say the least.

As a result, investors seeking diversification have been seeking other asset classes and searching for new indices.

The rise in the demand for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and passive funds, for example, has resulted in the development of new indices and index-linked products.

Index providers are now busy with producing benchmarks around thematics, factors, and multi-asset investing.

It is in this context that we announce the winners of the Best Index Provider Awards 2024, as part of The Asset Triple A Private Capital Awards for Private Banks, Wealth & Investment Bank Advisers, Solutions and Index Providers 2024.

Best Index Provider, Asia

FTSE Russell wins as the Best Index Provider, Asia for its strength in both equities and fixed income, allowing it to capture megatrends, remain responsive to investor demand, and provide indices that are relevant and timely.

Best Index Provider, China

China Securities Index (CSI) grabs the Best Index Provider, China award as it remains the dominant index provider in China, covering asset classes such as equity, bond, commodity and markets such as mainland China, Hong Kong and the US. In the APAC region, there are 1,668 passive funds tracking CSI-managed indices, up 26% compared to last year. Assets under management reached 2.36 trillion yuan (US$324.5 billion), recording a significant growth of 44% despite heightened market uncertainties.

Best Index Provider, Hong Kong

Hang Seng Indexes Limited is Best Index Provider, Hong Kong as clients attest to its unparalleled coverage of the Hong Kong equities market. In 2023, HSIL launched 86 new benchmarks, mainly sectoral and thematic, echoing Hong Kong’s role as a super-connector between mainland China and the rest of world.

Best Index Provider, Equity

One of the major developments in this year’s awards is having a new winner for Best Index Provider, Equity. The award is conferred on FTSE Russell, whose indices were able to capture megatrends to cater to investor demand and maintain their relevance amid shifting market conditions.

One megatrend in APAC equities is the heightening investment interest in the Middle East as highlighted by the launch of the first Saudi Arabia ETF in the region by CSOP Asset Management based on the FTSE Russell indices.

Another megatrend in APAC equities is the increasing demand for dividend-yielding products. FTSE Russell launched the FTSE Global Target Dividend Index Series, which is designed to reflect the performance of stocks representing a specific set of factor characteristics, with a particular focus on implementing dividend yield uplift targets against their respective base universe.

Best Index Provider, Fixed Income, Asia

FTSE Russell is also recognized as Best Index Provider, Fixed Income after it licensed its indices to CSOP Asset Management to launch the CSOP FTSE US Treasury 20+ Years Index ETF, marking the first fixed-rate US Treasury ETF listed in Hong Kong

Best Index Provider, Fixed Income, China – Winner

ChinaBond Pricing Center wins as Best Index Provider for Fixed Income, China as it maintains its leading position in providing fixed-income indices in China, covering the whole renminbi bond market in the country. It services more than 300 institutional clients spanning policy banks, commercial banks, fund houses, securities firms and insurers from onshore and offshore. The AUM of bond funds benchmarked against ChinaBond’s indices has crossed 500 trillion yuan.

Best Index Provider, Fixed Income, China – Highly Commended

CCX Indices is Highly Commended in the category of Best Index Provider for Fixed Income, China.  Comparatively a latecomer to the market, CCX Indices (CCXI) has been aggressively building up its capabilities in providing fixed-income indexing solutions leveraging its solid research capability and knowledge on China’s bond market. Its target-date bond index system released last year has been widely tracked by wealth management products and segregated accounts.

Best Index Provider, Multi-Asset and Commodities

S&P Dow Jones has always been looking for new ways to expand existing indices such as commodities, digital, and other existing indices. It is recognized as Best Index Provider – Multi Asset and Best Index Provider – Commodities.

In commodities, the S&P GSCI index is the first major investable commodity index. It is broad-based and production-weighted to represent the global commodity market beta. Keeping up with evolving approaches to asset allocation, the firm’s commodity indices offer the potential to improve diversification and have historically provided liquidity and inflation protection.

In multi-asset, the S&P 500 RavenPack AI Index uses a cutting-edge procedure to adjust its weight to sectors of the US economy with stronger sentiment, as determined by a news analytics algorithm. The index is comprised of equity, fixed income and cash components.

Best Index Provider – Innovation

S&P Dow Jones also grabs the Best Index Provider – Innovation award for the Cboe S&P 500® Dispersion Index, a first of its kind index which it launched with the Cboe Global Markets in September 2023.

Best Index Provider, ESG – Winner

S&P Dow Jones is Best Index Provider, ESG for launching new benchmarks to measure companies’ alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In January 2024, S&P DJI launched the S&P 500 SDG Index and the S&P Global Large MidCap SDG Index, expanding its suite of sustainability-oriented indices.

Best Index Provider, ESG – Highly Commended

FTSE Russell is recognized as Best Index Provider, ESG – Highly Commended for supporting the sustainable investment goal of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF). The GPIF, which tracks the FTSE Blossom Japan Index, has seen continued growth in AUM.

Best Index Provider, Thematic – Winner

S&P Dow Jones wins as Best Index Provider, Thematic as it continues the expansion of thematic indices to bring megatrends to life by combining cutting-edge quantitative techniques, access to novel datasets and leading analysts’ expertise to capture long-term, market-altering themes with precision.

Best Index Provider, Thematic ­– Highly Commended

Stoxx/Qontigo is Highly Commended in the Best Index Provider, Thematic category for highlighting its skills in thematic indexing through the launch of the STOXX Europe Luxury 10 index, which rides on the strong demand for European luxury brands from Korean investors, for Samsung Asset Management. Stoxx/Qontigo also switched the index underlying the BlackRock iShares World Equity Factor ETF (WDMF) in Australia to the STOXX® Developed World Equity Factor to revamp the multi-factor strategy.

Editors' Triple Star

CCX Indices (CCXI) wins the Editors’ Triple Star as it actively expands its capabilities to tap the equity market by launching a series of defensive indices and customized indices catering to market demands. Indices such as Defensive 100 equity index have been recognized especially by banking wealth management subsidiaries in China.

For the full list of winners, please clich here.