Bloomberg Indexes has completed the acquisition of the Australian bond index family from UBS.
Bloomberg will acquire all UBS Australia bond indexes, including the benchmark UBS Composite Bond Index.
The index family will be renamed the "Bloomberg AusBond Indexes" and will be independently calculated, maintained and licensed by Bloomberg to support transparency in Australia's fixed income market.
"There is a clear and necessary shift towards independent indexing and greater transparency in global fixed income benchmarks," says Srikant Dash, head of Bloomberg Indexes. "This acquisition provides true independence to an index family used extensively by institutional investors and asset managers. We are committed to a seamless transition in Australia and will continue to leverage Bloomberg's heritage in bond markets to bring independence and transparency to fixed income benchmarks, globally."
The Bloomberg AusBond Indexes include more than 500 bonds and are used as benchmarks for the majority of fixed income assets in Australia. Bloomberg will independently price the index family using its evaluated pricing and will calculate and publish the indexes daily. The Bloomberg AusBond Indexes will continue to be available for distribution on multiple platforms.
Duncan Haig, head of FX, rates and credit, UBS Australia says: "After 25 years of providing the leading bond indexes in Australia, UBS is delighted to announce the transitioning of the indexes to Bloomberg, a globally-renowned index provider, as we continue to concentrate fully on our Australian fixed income business. Bloomberg offers the fixed income community global expertise and independence of calculation and pricing, alongside a range of other services."
