S&P Includes REITs and Amex Adds Options By IndexFunds.com Staff October 24, 2001

Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor's this month added several Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to its US indexes for the first time. The firm recently concluded that REITs have become operating companies driving US economic activity, are no longer passive investment holding companies and are worthy of inclusion in its indexes. The S&P 500 now contains Equity Office Properties (ticker:EOP), while the S&P MidCap 400 contains Hospitality Properties Trust (ticker:HPT) and New Plan Excel Realty Trust (ticker:NXL). The S&P SmallCap 600 now contains Colonial Properties Trust (ticker:CLP), Kilroy Realty Corporation (ticker:KRC) and Shurgard Storage Centers (ticker:SHU). Details can be found at www.spglobal.com.

The American Stock Exchange

The American Stock Exchange introduced options trading for iShares S&P 100 Index Fund (ticker: OEF), a large-capitalization ETF from Barclays Global Investors. "Investors have expressed a preference for the flexibility and physical settlement feature of ETF options over cash index options," said Michael T. Bickford, Senior Vice President for Options at Amex. The S&P 100 has been a popular index for hedge fund managers and other institutional players seeking to play US equity options. For more information, visit www.amex.com.