S&P Launches MegaCap Index for Canadian Equity Market

Comprised of 25 of the largest, most liquid stocks listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange

TORONTO, Sept. 27 /CNW/ - Standard & Poor's, the world's leading index provider, announced today the launch of the S&P/TSX MegaCap Index, a large-cap index highlighting the 25 largest, most liquid stocks listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The Index is derived from the S&P/TSX Composite Index, a widely followed gauge of the Canadian equity market.

"The S&P/TSX MegaCap Index will provide investors with exposure to 25 of the largest, most liquid publicly traded companies in Canada," says Sid Oberoi, Senior Director at S&P Indices. "The Index covers over 50% of the market-cap of Canadian listed equities, providing investors with a gauge to measure the performance of this segment of the market."

To be included in the S&P/TSX MegaCap Index, securities must be among the 25 largest constituents in the S&P/TSX Composite in terms of float quoted market value (the value determined by multiplying the number of float shares of a security by the price for one such float share), and have listed options on the Montreal Exchange. In order to minimize turnover, additions and deletions from the S&P/TSX MegaCap are made at the Index's quarterly review.

The S&P/TSX MegaCap Index employs a buffer rule during the quarterly review where a security must be amongst the 35 largest constituents in the S&P/TSX Composite Index, and continue to have listed options on the Montreal Exchange. The top 5 constitutions by weight within the Index include: Barrick Gold Corp, Potash Corp of Saskatchewan, Suncor Energy Inc, Royal Bank of Canada, and Toronto-Dominion Bank.

"Toronto Stock Exchange is very pleased with the launch of this new index," says Andre Craig, Vice President, TMX Datalinx. "It provides a complementary offering to the core S&P/TSX benchmark indices and further demonstrates our joint commitment to providing new and innovative products for the capital markets."

For more information on the S&P/TSX MegaCap Index, including the methodology and fact sheet, please visit: www.standardandpoors.com/indices.

About S&P Indices

S&P Indices, the world's leading index provider, maintains a wide variety of investable and benchmark indices to meet an array of investor needs. Over $1.25 trillion is directly indexed to Standard & Poor's family of indices, which includes the S&P 500, the world's most followed stock market index, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, the S&P Global BMI, an index with approximately 11,000 constituents, the S&P GSCI, the industry's most closely watched commodities index, and the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index, the premier investable index for U.S. municipal bonds. For more information, please visit www.standardandpoors.com/indices.

About Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor's, a subsidiary of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the world's foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With offices in 23 countries and markets, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for 150 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com

Standard & Poor's does not promote, market, sell or endorse any product based upon its indices. Exposure to an asset class is available through investable instruments based on an index. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. There is no assurance that investment products based on the index will accurately track index performance or provide positive investment returns.

For further information: David R. Guarino, Standard & Poor's, Communications, 212-438-1471, [email protected]