Methodology Change | Solactive Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Index | Effective Date 15/11/2023

Today, on 27/10/2023, Solactive announces the following changes to the methodology of the following indices (the ‘Affected Indices’):

Rationale for Methodology Change

Solactive has determined that the addition of an ARTIS screen in the selection process will allow the index to better represent the electric vehicle charging infrastructure industry. Given that the EV charging industry is new, and quickly developing, the addition of ARTIS will allow us to capture additional highly relevant companies which are not included through the current RBICS selection process, resulting in a more well-rounded representation of the industry.

Changes to the Index Guideline

The following Methodology changes will be implemented in the following points of the Index Guideline:

1.1            SCOPE OF THE INDEX

From (old version):

To (new version):

2.1.          INDEX UNIVERSE REQUIREMENTS

From (old version):

The Index Universe is comprised of all financial instruments which fulfill the below requirements

 (the “Index Universe Requirements“):

• Primary listing on a regulated exchange in one of the countries that are part of the Developed or Emerging Markets as defined by the Solactive Country Classification (see. https://www.solactive.com/documents/).
• China A-Shares are excluded.
• Share Class Market Capitalization of at least USD 100,000,000 for companies on the respective Selection Day.
• Minimum Average Daily Value Traded of at least USD 500,000 over 1 month and over 6 months prior to and including the Selection Day.
• Classified under following Subindustries by FactSet Revere Business Industry Classification System (“RBICS”):
  • Battery Charging Equipment Manufacturing (401015101550)
  • Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (201515351010)

The determination of the Index Universe is fully rule-based and the Index Administrator cannot make any discretionary decisions.

To (new version):

The Index Universe is comprised of all financial instruments which fulfill the below requirements

 (the “Index Universe Requirements“):

• The Index Universe is determined based on screening of publicly available information such as financial news, business profiles, and company publications using ARTIS®, Solactive’s proprietary natural language processing algorithm.

Using keywords that describe the index theme, ARTIS® identifies companies that have or are expected to have exposure to the provision of products and/or services that contribute to the electric vehicle charging infrastructure economy. For the purposes of the INDEX, the following are the products and/or services deemed to suit the electric vehicle charging infrastructure economy:

• Electric Vehicle Charging Stations: Companies involved in manufacturing, installation and operation of charging stations, including public charging, home charging, and supporting equipment such as charging plugs and cables.
• Charging Infrastructure: Companies involved in the infrastructure that supports the EV charging network, including networking and equipment, software developed for EV charging platforms, payment processors and mobile charging solutions.
• Energy Management: Companies involved in optimizing energy flow, including grid operations and smart grids, energy monitoring, demand forecasting and load balancing, energy storage, and battery swapping.
• Electric Vehicle Batteries: Companies involved in the development of batteries used in electric vehicles, including research and design, manufacturing and recycling solutions.

Each company identified by ARTIS® receives a score that reflects their exposure to the index strategy. The companies are ranked by their score (in descending order). Each security is assigned a rank based on the position in the sorted list, e.g., the security with the highest score is assigned rank 1. Companies that do not have relevant business exposure to the index strategy are removed from the selection process at this stage.

• Primary listing on a regulated exchange in one of the countries that are part of the Developed Markets as defined by the Solactive Country Classification (see https://www.solactive.com/documents/).
• Share Class Market Capitalization of at least USD 100,000,000 for companies on the respective Selection Day.
• Average Daily Value Traded of at least USD 500,000 over 1 month and over 6 months prior to and including the Selection Day.

The determination of the Index Universe is fully rule-based and the Index Administrator cannot make any discretionary decisions.

2.2.          SELECTION OF THE INDEX COMPONENTS

From (old version):

• All eligible securities after step 2.2.1 will be selected.

To (new version):

• Companies eligible after step 1 will be classified as “Pure Play” and “Non-Pure Play”.
• All Pure Play companies are selected as Index Components.
• If the total number of Index Components is still below 20 after step 3), the highest-ranking Non-Pure Play securities are added to the Index until 20 Index Components are reached.

2.3.          WEIGHTING OF THE INDEX COMPONENTS

From (old version):

1. The weight of each Index Component is capped at 15%.

To (new version):

1. The maximum weight of an Index Component that is classified as “Pure Play” is 15%.
2. The maximum weight of an Index Component that is classified as “Non-Pure Play” is 3%.

2.3.          WEIGHTING OF THE INDEX COMPONENTS

Addition:

“Non-Pure Play” are Index Components that are not classified under any of the following FactSet Revere Business Industry Classification System (“RBICS”) Subindustry: Battery Charging Equipment Manufacturing, Electric Vehicle Charging Stations.

“Pure Play” are Index Components that are classified under any of the following FactSet Revere Business Industry Classification System (“RBICS”) Subindustry: Battery Charging Equipment Manufacturing, Electric Vehicle Charging Stations.

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. The amended version of the index guideline will be available on the effective date.