The S&P US Aggregate Bond Index is a market value-weighted index designed to measure the performance of the investment grade US fixed income market, according to a statement released yesterday.
The index includes US Treasuries, quasi-governments, corporates, covered bonds, taxable municipal bonds, and residential mortgage pass-throughs, said the statement.
S&P Dow Jones Indices has also released the S&P Global Developed Nations Sovereign Bond Index and the S&P Global Developed Nations Inflation-Linked Index.
"An expanded family of global bond indices including global corporate bond indices, and global emerging market bond and inflation-linked indices measuring markets in Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, Middle East, and the Americas, is also being created," said the statement.
The company has also unveiled its plans to launch factor-based fixed income indices in 2015, with GDP and environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors slated to be the initial focus.
S&P Dow Jones Indices global head of fixed income JR Rieger said there is a "clear, growing trend throughout the world for passive investing".
"Our goal is to offer investors around the world, and the companies that service them, the indices required to build solutions for all parts of an investment portfolio," Mr Rieger said.
"Our clients are increasingly interested in achieving alpha via products based upon multi-asset and alternatively weighted indices. S&P Dow Jones Indices can now respond to those needs on a global scale," he said.
The company has also launched the S&P Africa Sovereign Bond Index and the S&P Africa Global Sovereign Bond Index, said the statement.
