FTSE Russell announced on Thursday that Russia will be deleted from all FTSE Russell Equity Indices effective from the open on Monday, 7 March.
“Following consideration by the FTSE Russell Index Governance Board, of the feedback received from the independent advisory committees, other market participants, and given the current market conditions, FTSE Russell announces that in accordance with Rule 2.1 of the FTSE Russell Index Policy ‘In the Event Clients are Unable to Trade a Market’ Russia will be deleted from all FTSE Russell Equity Indices effective from the open on Monday 07 March 2022,” the investment manager said in a statement.
The announcement follows a meeting held with the FTSE Russell Policy Advisory Board and Equity Country Classification Advisory Committee during which the escalation of sanctions by the European Union, United Kingdom and the United States on Russia were discussed.
The advisory committees also reflected on the decision made by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) to temporarily suspend trading on the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) and prohibit non-resident investors from executing security sales.
FTSE Russell explained that following the deletion of Russia from all FTSE Russell Equity Indices, Russia will be classified as an “Unclassified” market within the FTSE Equity Country Classification scheme.
“Once regular trading resumes on MOEX and all restrictions on non-resident investors have been lifted, the market will not be re-included in the standard FTSE Russell global indices automatically, but rather the status of the market will be re-evaluated as part of the FTSE Equity Country Classification process,” the investment manager said.
“This process will follow the standard FTSE Equity Country Classification procedure and timetable for a new market, and the country may be required to spend a period of time on the relevant watch-list before its status is confirmed.”
Maja Garaca Djurdjevic
Maja's career in journalism spans well over a decade across finance, business and politics. Now an experienced editor and reporter across all elements of the financial services sector, prior to joining Momentum Media, Maja reported for several established news outlets in Southeast Europe, scrutinising key processes in post-conflict societies.
