The American Stock Exchange has listed a novel index designed to measure the performance of companies that may benefit from an ageing population. Merrill Lynch last week sold USD42 million of structured investment notes linked to the index, which references pharmaceutical and health-related companies such as CVS Corp. and Pfizer. The Merrill notes are the only securities so far associated with the index, which launched Aug. 30.
The three-year Merrill notes offer investors unleveraged exposure to the index. If the index decreases in value, the investors' notes will also lose value. The investor only gains if the index has increased over the term by at least 1%. The notes expire Sept. 6, 2011. The index was up 1.073% Tuesday since launch. Satch Chaada, director of product origination at Merrill in New York, referred calls to spokesman Erik Hendrickson, who did not respond to questions.
