Methodology Change | SOLACTIVE CHINA THEMATIC INDICES | Effective Date 23/12/2019

Today, on the 09/12/2019, Solactive announces the following changes to the methodology of the following Indices (the ‘Affected Indices’):

Rationale for methodology change

Solactive has determined that in order to accurately reflect the index objective and to increase the transparency of the selection of the index components, the application of keywords shall be described in more detail. This does not change the selection process but adds an additional level of granularity.

Changes to the Index Guideline

The Methodology changes will be implemented in the following points of the Index Guidelines (ordered in accordance with the numbering of the affected sections):

1. The below changes will be implemented in the following points of the Index Guidelines for the Solactive China Clean Energy Index PR / TR / NTR:
   
   Step 4 in the process detailed in chapter “2.1. Index Universe Requirements” will be split into two separate steps. The definition of the step is changed from
   
   “4. Companies that have non-significant exposure to clean energy will be identified and removed from the list of eligible constituents after step 3. This identification is based on company description included in FactSet, and keywords that indicate limited or no exposure to clean energy. The keywords are subject to regular revision by the Oversight Committee.”
   
   to
   
   “4. From the list of constituents remaining after step 3, only companies with significant exposure to clean energy are eligible. Identification is based on the company description included in FactSet, and keywords that indicate significant exposure to clean energy and its related supply chain. The keywords are subject to regular revision by the OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.
   
   5. As an exclusion policy, companies (i) with insignificant exposure to clean energy and its related supply chain and/or (ii) which engage in business(es) that may have adverse environmental impact will be identified and removed from the list of eligible constituents after step 4 above. Identification is based on the company description included in FactSet and the “exclusion” keywords indicating limited or no exposure to clean energy and its related supply chain. The keywords are subject to regular revision by the OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.”
   
   
   
2. The below changes will be implemented in the following points of the Index Guidelines for the Solactive China Electric Vehicle Index PR / TR / NTR:
   
   Step 4 in the process detailed in chapter “2.1. Index Universe Requirements” will be split into two separate steps. The definition of the step is changed from
   
   “4. Companies that have non-significant exposure to electric vehicles will be identified and removed from the list of eligible constituents after step 3. This identification is based on company description included in FactSet, and keywords that indicate limited or no exposure to electric vehicles. The keywords are subject to regular revision by the Oversight Committee”
   
   to
   
   “4. From the list of constituents remaining after step 3, only companies with significant exposure to electric vehicles are eligible. Identification is based on the company description included in FactSet, and keywords that indicate significant exposure to electric vehicles and its related supply chain. The keywords are subject to regular revision by the OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.
   
   5. As an exclusion policy, companies with insignificant exposure to electric vehicles and its related supply chain will be identified and removed from the list of eligible constituents after step 4 above. Identification is based on the company description included in FactSet and the “exclusion” keywords indicating limited or no exposure to electric vehicles and its related supply chain. The keywords are subject to regular revision by the OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.”

Defined terms used in this announcement, but not defined herein, have the meaning assigned to them in the respective index guideline of the Affected Indices.