Standard & Poor’s has introduced 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 provider said Monday.

The index is derived from the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index.

“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,” he adds.

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 five 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.

IE