On Monday 31st July 2017, The Malta Stock Exchange will be replacing the current MSE Equity Index with the MSE Equity Total Return Index (“MSETRX”).
The current MSE Index takes into consideration capital gains or losses of the securities that make up the index. It is a weighted average of the current market capitalization of these securities and is based on their last closing trade prices. The MSE Index is based at 1,000 on December 27, 1995.
On the other hand, the MSETRX is a total return index which tracks both capital gains of the securities that make up this index and assumes that any cash distributions, such as dividends, are reinvested back into the index. The net cash dividend will be added to the market capitalization of the company and will be accounted for when the equity concerned is trading ex-dividend. The MSETRX Index is also based at 1,000 on December 27, 1995.
A total return index gives a more accurate reflection of the index’s performance and shows the benefit of reinvesting the dividends.
Click here to download the Malta Stock Exchange MSETRX Methodology