FTSE Group has launched the UK Digital Services Index Series, which will act as a benchmark of UK companies operating in the digital sector.
Indices will be calculated based on the FTSE All-Share and the FTSE AIM benchmarks, as well as a composite index of both FTSE All-Share and FTSE AIM constituents.
A company is eligible for the index if it derives more than 50 per cent of its revenues from either digital or online services, or if it is considered to be engaged in providing services that are integral and critical for the functioning of digital services.
The UK Digital Services Index Series has widened the definition of what constitutes an internet service business, so that it includes companies that operate in a B2C digital capacity as well as those serving B2B digitally. This means that less than 50 per cent of the index is made up of software and technology companies, with weightings in key service areas such as travel and leisure, media and general retailers making up more than 25 per cent combined.
Mark Makepeace (pictured), chief executive officer, FTSE Group, says: “FTSE continues to develop innovative indexes for markets in the UK and across the globe. Our inventive approach is reflected in the UK Digital Services Index Series, which takes a fresh look at the internet service sector. FTSE has created a digital index that is not comprised of only software and technology stocks, but provides a true picture of the great breadth of industries in the UK that the internet has revolutionised.”
The FTSE UK Digital Services Index Series is based on FTSE indices that are managed according to a publicly available set of rules.
Sectors included in the new index are software & computer services (31.4 per cent), technology hardware & equipment (17.6 per cent), travel & leisure (11.8 per cent), fixed line telecommunications (9.8 per cent), media (9.8 per cent), mobile telecommunications (7.8 per cent), general retailers (3.9 per cent), financial services (2.0 per cent), food & drug retailers (2.0 per cent), non-life insurance (2.0 per cent) and support services (2.0 per cent).
