Dow Jones Indexes and Brookfield Asset Management Inc. today announced the launch of a global index series designed to serve as benchmarks of companies that are owners and operators of key infrastructure assets such as toll roads, pipelines and ports.

The new index family, the Dow Jones Brookfield Infrastructure Indexes, include a composite index and subindices for four regions and eight sectors:

> Dow Jones Brookfield Global Infrastructure Index;

> Dow Jones Brookfield Global Composite Index, which includes master limited partnerships (MLPs);

> regional sub-indices for the Americas, Europe, Asia/Pacific and global ex U.S.;

> eight global sector sub-indexes; and

> Dow Jones Brookfield Infrastructure MLP Index, which tracks MLPs only.

To be eligible for inclusion, a company must have a minimum float-adjusted market capitalization of US$500 million as well as a minimum three-month average daily trading volume of US$1 million. Also, more than 70% of cash flows must be derived from infrastructure assets in the following sectors; airports, toll roads, ports, communications, electricity transmission and distribution, oil and gas storage/ transportation, and water. Diversified companies that derive at least 70% of their cash flow from infrastructure assets as well as investment funds with a primary focus toward infrastructure investments are also eligible for inclusion. The indexes are calculated in price and net total return, in U.S. dollars, euros, Canadian dollars and Australian dollars.

“As the global infrastructure industry — which is the backbone for the provision of essential products and services for the world economy — continues to expand in response to increasing population and demographic shifts, there is a greater demand among investment professionals for high-quality benchmarks that accurately reflect this burgeoning asset class. The Dow Jones Brookfield Infrastructure Indexes can be used by institutional investors as measurement tools to gauge the performance of their infrastructure portfolios. The indexes also can be customized to meet the needs of market participants who are interested in specific areas, such as electricity transmission or toll road companies,” says Michael Petronella, president, Dow Jones Indexes.