FTSE introduces new Dividend+Indices

London, 24 October 2005 - Two innovative new tradable FTSE indices are now live - FTSE UK Dividend+ and the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Europe ex UK Dividend+ Index. The two tradable indices have been created in response to the growing demand for higher yielding asset classes. As tradable indices, both are designed to support derivatives products and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). FTSE has already licensed Barclays Global Investors (BGI) to create Exchange Traded Funds on each index.

The FTSE UK Dividend+ is based on the FTSE 350, and contains the 50 highest constituents from the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250, when ranked by one-year forecasted dividend yield. The constituents' weightings within the index are determined by their dividend yield as opposed to market capitalisation. Investors will find the index a good way of capturing the performance of higher yielding stocks, and benefit from the lower correlations to the traditional market cap weighted indices.

The FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Europe ex UK Dividend+ contains high yielding real estate stocks, selected from the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Index universe. To become eligible for inclusion into the index, each stock is required to have a one-year forecasted dividend yield of at least 2%.

The dividend information for the FTSE UK Dividend+ is provided to FTSE by Markit Group Limited ("Markit"), the leading industry source for independent mark-to-market pricing, asset valuations, dividend forecasting and index services.

Imogen Dillon Hatcher, FTSE's European Managing Director commented, "Investors are increasingly seeking ways of accessing the highest performing value stocks – FTSE’s new dividend + indices meet this requirement exactly, and we expect to see a growing demand from the market for ETFs and structured products based on these new indices. We are also pleased to be working with Markit Group whose dividend forecasting service is widely recognised as being the accepted market standard."

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Journalists requiring more information should contact:

FTSE Group

London: Jo Mayall/Sandra Steel +44 207 866 1821 or email media@ftse.com

About FTSE Group

FTSE Group is a world-leader in the creation and management of indexes. With offices in Beijing, London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Madrid, Paris, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo, FTSE Group services clients in 77 countries worldwide. It calculates and manages the FTSE Global Equity Index Series, which includes world-recognized indexes ranging from the FTSE All-World Index, the FTSE4Good series and the FTSEurofirst Index series, as well as domestic indexes such as the prestigious FTSE 100. The company has collaborative arrangements with the Athens, AMEX, Cyprus, Euronext, Johannesburg London, Madrid, NASDAQ and Taiwan exchanges, as well as Nomura Securities, Hang Seng and Xinhua Finance of China. FTSE also has a collaborative agreement with Dow Jones Indexes to develop a single sector classification system for global investors.

FTSE indexes are used extensively by investors worldwide for investment analysis, performance measurement, asset allocation, portfolio hedging and for creating a wide range of index tracking funds. Independent committees of senior fund managers, derivatives experts, actuaries and other experienced practitioners review all changes to the indexes to ensure that they are made objectively and without bias. Real-time FTSE indexes are calculated on systems managed by Reuters. Prices and FX rates used are supplied by Reuters.