London, New York, Santa Monica, Calif., February 10, 2021–The Financial Times, the most trusted global financial media brand and apioneer in digital journalism, and Wilshire, a global investment, technologyand advisory company today announce a far-reaching collaboration to developnew, innovative and more relevant indices, metrics, data sets and analytics toserve and inform investors worldwide.
The new services will provide investors with tools andcontent to understand the evolution of new themes in business and investment,from Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) to new digital financialinstruments.
The two organizations, working with a range of leadingmarket innovators and experts, will create dedicated services and features onFT.com combining data, tools, analytics and indices from Wilshire and itspartners. The venture will provide investors with unique commentary, insightsand data-sets to help them interpret the issues and themes driving financialmarkets.
The partnership will build on the success of therecently-launched and fast-growing ETF Hub on FT.com. The ETF Hub, jointlyproduced in partnership with TrackInsight, provides leading global coverage,data and analytics relating to the fast growing $8tn Exchange Traded Fundssector.
The Financial Times and Wilshire will also collaborate onthe creation of indices for clients and investors worldwide utilizingWilshire’s deep pool of talent and content in investment advice and multi-assetstrategies. The Wilshire 5000, widely regarded as the best single measure ofthe US equity market, is the first and oldest measure of the total US equitymarket and was created in 1974, with a time series of data beginning onDecember 31, 1970.
Following a consultation with existing Wilshire 5000 users,the Wilshire 5000 index series will be enhanced, expanded and relaunched as theFT Wilshire 5000 US Series providing Wilshire clients with a superior set ofdomestic US indices to support their investment analysis and decision set.
Mark Makepeace, the new Chief Executive Officer of Wilshire,will be joined at Wilshire by his former colleagues, Reza Ghassemieh, PaulGrimes and Jonathan Horton, widely recognized for building and growing globalindex franchises and data businesses.
Reza Ghassemieh, formerly Chief Research Officer at FTSERussell and Managing Director, Head of Quantitative Research at NomuraInternational, joins as Chief Benchmark Officer and will be responsible for thedevelopment and delivery of the Wilshire index product strategy.
Paul Grimes, formerly a Managing Director, Head of Equitiesat IHS Markit and Chief Operating Officer at FTSE International joins as Chiefof Staff and will be responsible for the development and delivery of the FTinitiatives and collaborating with Mr. Ghassemieh in the delivery of theWilshire index strategy.
Jonathan Horton formerly Chief Data Officer and Global Headof Change at FTSE Russell, where he led numerous acquisition integrations,joins as Chief Strategy & Integration Officer. Jonathan will work closelywith the leadership team in the delivery of Wilshire’s ambitious growthobjectives.
Benchmark and index data play a critical role in thefinancial services industry. This data is used to drive new productdevelopment, monitor performance and manage risk exposures. The index industrygrew 11% per annum between 2015 and 2019, into a $3.7 billion market in 2019,and is expected to continue its growth trajectory driven by an increase inpassive investment strategies. Growth is also going to be driven from uniqueindex designs and customized solutions into investment segments such as ESG andFactor exposures in the traditional equity and fixed income asset classes, anda greater focus on alternative asset classes and multi-asset products.
“The investment industry continues to evolve and innovate.The combination of Wilshire’s deep pool of investment knowledge, the FT’sleading digital platforms and journalists, and our widely-recognized leadershipteam in the index space will allow us to provide our clients and investorsworldwide with greater insight and better investment solutions,” said MarkMakepeace, Chief Executive Officer of Wilshire.
“We are delighted to be working again with Mark Makepeaceand many of his former colleagues to build a leading global index business. TheFT has been a pioneer in digital journalism and the ‘new agenda’ for investing– including via Moral Money – and this collaboration will help us reinforce ourbrand in growth markets and strengthen our position as the leading globalfinancial news organization,” commented John Ridding, Chief Executive Officerof The Financial Times Group.
The FT and Wilshire will also collaborate with Nikkei inAsia where Nikkei is already a leading index provider.
