REAL ESTATE – Three new real estate indices have just been launched by Dow Jones’ Stoxx affiliate.

Zurich-based Stoxx said the measures are the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Real Estate Index, the Dow Jones STOXX Americas 600 Real Estate Index and the Dow Jones STOXX Asia/Pacific 600 Real Estate Index.

They track the performance of the top real estate investment trusts (REITs) and real estate holding & development stocks in Europe, the Americas and Asia/Pacific.

The indexes are derived from the Dow Jones Stoxx Global 1800 Index. They include securities classified as either investing directly or indirectly in real estate.

This could be via development, management, or ownership - including property agencies, REITs or listed property trusts.

"The three new Dow Jones Stoxx real estate indexes for Europe, the Americas and Asia/Pacific provide investors with transparent and objective tools to measure the real estate sector, which has outperformed the respective benchmark indexes in recent years," said managing director Lars Hamich.

"The indexes are designed to underlie investment products, and will allow investors to participate in the performance of key real estate markets globally."

The Dow Jones STOXX 600 Real Estate Index comprises 22 components, the Dow Jones STOXX Americas 600 Real Estate Index contains 20 components and the Dow Jones STOXX Asia/Pacific 600 Real Estate Index has 39 components.