A New Stock Market Index by the People, for the People

MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich., April 9 /PRNewswire/ -- BetterInvesting and The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) have teamed up to offer investors the opportunity to leverage the success of BetterInvesting's more than 13,000 clubs for their own portfolios by creating a new index, the BetterInvesting 100 Index. The BetterInvesting Top 100, a listing of the top companies held by BetterInvesting's investment clubs, has outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average by more than 14 percent since March 2003.

The BetterInvesting 100 Index, which begins trading today with a benchmark value of 150.00, is the first index based on "real people's" portfolios. These investors, members of BetterInvesting-affiliated investment clubs, use a credible long-term investing methodology and a proven tool, the Stock Selection Guide, to help pick good growth companies. The organization's members report their top holdings through an annual survey conducted by BetterInvesting Magazine.

Each March, when BetterInvesting clubs report their top holdings, NASDAQ will adjust the BetterInvesting 100 Index to reflect the most current information. The holdings are listed on NASDAQ, New York Stock Exchange or American Stock Exchange.

"We have partnered with NASDAQ to launch a new stock market index based on our members' proven track record of investing success," says Peter Breen, managing partner, The Vokser Group, serving as chief strategist for BetterInvesting. "This index represents a true cross-section of American capitalism as viewed by the average American investor. It is a 'people's index' as it embodies real money, invested by real people, after making real decisions. This is not another industry-specific or capitalization index, nor is it some mathematical algorithm. These are the stocks that drive our nation and appeal to educated investors."

BetterInvesting, the brand identity of the National Association of Investors Corp. (NAIC), is a leading nonprofit organization with the mission of creating a nation of educated investors. The organization intends to create an Exchange Traded Fund, an Open-ended Fund and other derivatives from the BetterInvesting 100 Index.

"We are pleased to collaborate with BetterInvesting, an organization dedicated to helping millions of average Americans make more informed investment decisions," said NASDAQ Executive Vice President John Jacobs. "As a world-class indexer, NASDAQ is uniquely qualified to calculate this new index as a service provider to BetterInvesting."

The BetterInvesting 100 Index includes a diverse mix of companies from all types of industries. This year's top 10 held companies are: The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD); General Electric Company (NYSE: GE); Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG); Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW); Microsoft Corporation Inc. (NASDAQ: MSFT); Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL); Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ); Stryker Corporation (NYSE: SYK); Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY); and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE). Click here for the 2007 list of top 100 holdings as reported in the April issue of BetterInvesting Magazine.

Two versions of the Index were calculated - a price return index and a total return index. The price return index (NASDAQ: BIXX) is calculated without regard to cash dividends. The total return index (NASDAQ: BIXR) reinvests cash dividends. Both usually reinvest extraordinary cash distributions. The BetterInvesting 100 Index is an equal-dollar weighted index.

BetterInvesting

BetterInvesting (the brand identity of the National Association of Investors Corporation), is a national, nonprofit association with members consisting of investment clubs and individual investors. Founded in 1951, BetterInvesting is considered the pioneer of the modern investment club movement, as well as the voice of the individual investor. BetterInvesting is dedicated to providing a sound program of investment education and information to help its members become successful long-term, lifetime average American investor. The BetterInvesting community currently consists of more than 130,000 individual members, and over 13,000 investment clubs. These investors use a time-tested screening process called The Stock Selection Guide (SSG), which is the centerpiece of BetterInvesting's unique stock analysis philosophy. An SSG gives the investor a basic framework for analyzing individual stocks according to a systematic, proven investment philosophy: finding quality growth companies at good prices. The SSG walks the investor through a series of steps and processes for evaluating a company's financial performance, thus enabling the investor to choose a price range within which the propensity for returns is more favorable.

NASDAQ

NASDAQ is a force of innovation and influence in the financial products industry. It maintains its position as a world-class innovator by developing new indexes of its own and with other partners. NASDAQ is home to some of the world's most closely watched indexes including the NASDAQ Composite Index(R), the NASDAQ-100 Index(R), the NASDAQ(R) Clean Edge(R) U.S. Liquid Series Index, and the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index(R). In addition to pursuing listings of exchange traded funds (ETFs) and other structured products, NASDAQ actively develops indexes and other index-based derivative securities for the global capital markets.

SOURCE BetterInvesting