Asia Index has launched five new sized-based indices covering large-, mid-, and small-cap equities listed in India. The indices are available for product development including serving as the underlying for ETFs.

The new indices will give size-based exposure to Indian companies on the BSE.

Alka Banerjee, CEO of Asia Index (a joint venture between S&P Dow Jones Indices and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)), commented: “Asia Index is happy to announce the launch of a new set of size indices that are a suitable benchmark for market participants. It is our endeavour to continue to ensure we are meeting market demands and providing suitable, transparent and rules-based benchmarks for the Indian Market.”

The new indices are composed of constituents of the S&P BSE 500 Index and are weighted based on their float-adjusted market capitalisation.

S&P BSE 150 Midcap Index tracks the performance of 150 mid-cap companies in the S&P BSE 500 but not in the S&P BSE 100.

S&P BSE 250 Smallcap Index tracks the performance of the 250 small-cap stocks in the S&P BSE 500 that are not in the S&P BSE 100 or the S&P BSE 150 Midcap.

S&P BSE 250 LargeMidcap Index tracks the performance of the 250 companies in the S&P BSE 100 and S&P BSE 150 Midcap indices.

S&P BSE 400 MidSmallcap Index tracks the performance of the 400 companies in the S&P BSE 500 that are not part of the S&P BSE 100.

S&P BSE 250 LargeMidcap 65:35 Index tracks the performance of a composite of the S&P BSE 100 and the S&P BSE 150 Midcap, weighted 65% to the former and 35% to the latter.

The new indices are priced in INR and USD for both price return and total return versions.

ETF investors looking for exposure to Indian companies through S&P BSE indices could try the iShares Core S&P BSE SENSEX India Index ETF (2836 HK), which tracks the performance of the 30 largest companies on the BSE. The fund has $1.1 billion in assets and charges an annual fee of 0.64%.