ICE Data Services Selected as the New Benchmark Provider for Blackrock Ishares U.S. Preferred Stock WTF

ICE LOGOATLANTA & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), a leading operator of global exchanges and clearing houses and provider of data and listings services, today announced that ICE Data Services has been selected as the new benchmark provider for BlackRock’s iShares® U.S. Preferred Stock ETF (PFF), which currently represents $14.7 billion in assets under management1.

This follows a successful transition in August 2018 of four iShares corporate bond ETFs, which had a combined $19 billion in assets under management, to indices compiled by ICE Data Services. The iShares U.S. Preferred Stock ETF (PFF) provides exposure to U.S. preferred stocks, which have characteristics of both bonds and stocks, and provide income competitive with high yield bonds.

Effective January 31, 2019, the fund will be benchmarked to the ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Transition Index and following a nine-month transition period it will be benchmarked to the ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index. These indexes are part of ICE Data Indices, a comprehensive family of more than 5,000 global fixed income, equity, commodity and currency indexes that leverage ICE Data Services’ pricing, reference data and analytics solutions.

ICE has invested significant resources to build high-quality data and analytics capabilities, particularly around index design and calculation services,” said Heather Brownlie, Head of U.S. iShares Fixed Income at BlackRock. “We’re pleased to partner with them to position our preferred stock ETF for the future.” 

Lynn Martin, ICE Data Services President and COO
Lynn Martin, ICE Data Services President and COO

“The iShares U.S. Preferred Stock ETF is a premier fund serving the investment community, and we’re thrilled to have been chosen as the index provider,” said Lynn Martin, President and Chief Operating Officer of ICE Data Services. “The selection of our indices showcases our ability to manage exposure across asset classes. This capability uniquely positions us to offer a wide range of customized solutions which support all aspects of the benchmarking and performance measurement process to an increasing customer base.”

ICE Data Services’ multi-asset class index solution provides benchmark and bespoke indices on an integrated platform that drives efficient workflows across asset management, benchmarking and reporting.

1. As of November 27, 2018