Dow Jones Indexes and Wilshire Associates are collaborating to launch a new global index that could offer defined contribution plan sponsors a better screening tool for global funds.
The Dow Jones Wilshire Global 10000 index, which is tentatively scheduled to launch in June, according to people familiar with the project, will track a broader array of companies than the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000, also a global index. It is designed for use by institutional investors such as pension plans.
The index will allow more thorough screening of global funds, which defined contribution plan sponsors are under increasing pressure to do, an insider said. Plan sponsors trying to fulfill fiduciary obligations are under tighter scrutiny, the insider said.
Both index providers came together on the project because plans are gaining more international exposure, the insider added. The index will track 10,000 components that have not yet been finalized. Kim Shepherd, a Wilshire spokeswoman, could not be reached by press time and Sybille Reitz, a Dow Jones spokeswoman, declined to comment.