ISITC TALKTIME: Equity Indices Podcast

ISITC TALKTIME: Equity Indices Podcast

Posted on April 17, 2025 by Cathy Wright

TalkTime Podcast: Equity Indices

In this TalkTime Podcast, ISTIC Europe’s Research Director, Dr. Tony Gandy, converses with Professor Daniel Broby on the subject of Equity Indices.

The Equity Index is a complex area for market professionals, and yet it underpins the investment decisions made by enormous numbers of retail investors as they increasingly choose passive funds, often in ETF wrappers, to access markets and build their wealth for their futures. The recording has been split into 3 parts and covers three broad themes.

 

Part 1 – Fundamental aspects of the Equity Index, best practices in constructing them, and the various pitfalls.

Viewing time:11 mins

Part 2 – Current and forthcoming innovations in employing novel indices, which present both opportunities and challenges, along with potential regulatory considerations.

Viewing time:25 mins

Part 3 – The evolving utilization of indices and the effects this evolution has on the construction, complexities and management of this expanding universe of indices.

Viewing time:23 mins

Professor Broby is uniquely positioned to discuss these issues. He has built many an Equity Index as a practitioner, being an experienced Chief Investment Officer in the capital markets firms he has worked for. However, he now has separation from practice in his new career as an academic working in one of Asia’s leading management schools. His publications span past, present, and future developments in Equity Indices, including a recent paper titled “On the Use of Principal Components Analysis in Index Construction” published in the Financial Statistical Journal.

 

Additionally, he has released the second edition of his opus, “A Guide to Equity Index Construction” published by Risk Books. Originally published in 2007, this book has guided many aspiring Chief Investment Officers into the world of Equity Indices. With the 2024 second edition, Professor Broby aims to assist a new generation of fund managers in navigating this swiftly progressing and crucial subject, ensuring that retail customers receive what they anticipate from their passive investments.