Nikko AM collaborating with Solactive in designing Asia ex Japan Dividend Plus Index

Solactive is pleased to announce a new collaboration with one of Japan’s largest Asset Management companies, Nikko Asset Management. Together with the Asian ETF powerhouse, Solactive developed the Solactive Asia ex Japan Dividend Plus Index (Dividend Plus Index), that builds on the Solactive GBS Asia Large & Mid Cap USD Index, which covers a broad universe of 800 Asian large and mid-cap stocks after exclusions of Japanese equities and China A-shares.

The Dividend Plus Index employs a methodology that systematically searches for companies able to, sustainably, pay higher dividends in the long run. Backtests show that the strategy delivers an almost 40% higher dividend payout while exhibiting lower volatility, compared to the Solactive GBS Asia Large & Mid Cap benchmark index.

This collaboration in product development is a joint effort of Nikko AM’s quantitative investment team with Solactive’s expertise in indexing solutions technology. The Dividend Plus Index is one of several new-generation indices that both companies plan to roll out, with an Enhanced Factors Index in the pipeline.

“We are honored to partner with Nikko AM, one of Asia’s largest and most experienced asset managers, in collaborating on the Solactive Asia ex Japan Dividend Plus Index.” Timo Pfeiffer, Chief Markets Officer at Solactive. “Nikko AM plays a significant role in the Japanese asset management markets, and being chosen as their partner to develop this innovative index is proof of the quality of our offering. We look forward to expanding this partnership on creating more innovative indices by combining both Solactive’s indexing capabilities and Nikko AM’s investment management expertise.”

Hiroshi Yokoyama, Global Head of Product Development and Management at Nikko AM, says “We always put our investors’ interests at the heart of our product development efforts. It is our pleasure to collaborate with Solactive in conceptualizing the first of several new generation indices which aim to deliver better investment outcomes for our investors. This model of partnership with Solactive allows us to develop progressive solutions by marrying Nikko AM’s thought leadership in active investment management with the transparency and cost economics advantages of indexation.”

The Solactive Asia ex Japan Dividend Plus Index will go live on October 1st, 2020.