11.07.2006 - 10:12am ET

(CSRwire) BOSTON and NEW YORK, USA - KLD Research & Analytics, Inc. and Mergent, Inc. announced today the November 1, 2006 launch of the KLD Dividend Achievers Social Index, the first benchmark for US equity portfolios meeting investor demand for both environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and dividend growth.

"KLD is delighted to work with Mergent to capitalize on their dividend growth expertise," said Peter D. Kinder, president of KLD. "We know social investors will be excited about this new equity income index based on the long and established track record of trusted leaders in their markets."

"The KLD Dividend Achievers Social Index is an important and exciting addition to Mergent's Dividend Achievers family," said Jonathan Worrall, CEO of Mergent. "Our partnership with KLD enables us to offer the first such index aimed at investors looking for socially responsible investments with low risk returns, and delivers on our commitment to bringing the very best investment opportunities to dividend-focused investors."

Back tests of the KLD Dividend Achievers Social Index (DASI) show increased performance and lower volatility compared to an appropriate market benchmark such as the Russell 1000 Value® Index. At the same time, it provides an above market yield and greater small and mid cap diversification than most socially responsible indexes.

The KLD Dividend Achievers Social Index marks the first time dividend criteria have been applied to an equity social index. The DASI is an equal weighted common stock index comprised of 168 US companies that are members of the KLD Large Cap SocialSM Index (LCSI) or KLD's Domini 400 SocialSM Index (DS400) and that also satisfy Mergent's Dividend AchieversTM criteria.

To construct the Index, Mergent's proprietary Dividend Achievers™ overlay is applied to the combined LCSI and DS400 ESG universe. The overlay selects only those companies that have paid an increasing regular cash dividend for a minimum of 10 consecutive years. In addition, each company's stock average daily cash volume must exceed $1 million in the 60-day period prior to Index reconstitution.

The DASI methodology leverages the research and index experience of both KLD and Mergent. First, by using the KLD LCSI and DS400 as the universe of DASI candidates, investors gain exposure to positive ESG performance. Second, application of the Dividend AchieversTM overlay seeks out those KLD-evaluated ESG performers with the strongest records of dividend growth such as Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson and AT&T.

The combination of KLD and Mergent methodologies yields an innovative, differentiated index that will appeal to investors seeking greater socially responsible investment (SRI) opportunities together with equity income exposure. For the long-term investor, this group of companies has generated both higher absolute and risk-adjusted returns than its benchmark based on backtest results from February 1, 2001 through September 30, 2006.

"We believe KLD's Dividend Achievers Social Index not only fills a diversification gap for social investors, but also will be attractive to a wide range of equity investors because of its high yield, low risk and low volatility," said Thomas Kuh, Ph.D., Managing Director of KLD Indexes.

About KLD Indexes

KLD Indexes, a division of KLD Research & Analytics, constructs indexes for investors who integrate environmental, social and governance factors into their investment decisions. Investors, trustees, and consultants depend on the quality and integrity of KLD Indexes, which are designed to be transparent, representative and investable. Today, more than $10 billion is invested in funds based on KLD's family of six benchmark and strategy indexes. For more information, visit www.KLDindexes.com

About KLD Research & Analytics, Inc.
KLD Research & Analytics, Inc. is an independent investment research firm providing investment management tools used by professionals to serve clients requiring investment strategies based on social and environmental responsibility.

Since 1988, institutional investors, managers, trustees, consultants and advisors have depended on the quality and expertise of KLD. Institutional money managers worldwide use KLD's research to integrate environmental, social and governance factors into their investment decisions. Thirty-three of the top 50 asset managers worldwide use KLD services.

KLD products and services, including SOCRATES, a web-based research tool, are used for screening, compliance and asset gathering. For more information, visit www.KLD.com.

About Mergent's Dividend Achievers

A powerful tool for investors seeking a long-term portfolio of higher risk-adjusted returns, Mergent's Dividend Achievers are companies that have increased their annual regular dividends for at least the past 10 consecutive years and have met specific liquidity screening criteria. The Dividend Achievers are typically companies with strong cash reserves, solid balance sheets and a proven record of consistent earnings growth. Mergent has been identifying these strong dividend-paying companies for more than 25 years.

The complete list of 2006 Dividend Achievers is available at www.dividendachievers.com. Mergent's Dividend Achievers Handbook, published quarterly by John Wiley & Sons, provides corporate information and financial data on all of the US and Canadian Dividend Achievers companies, as well as a wide range of supplementary rankings.

About Mergent

Mergent, Inc., a Xinhua Finance company (TSE Mothers: 9399; OTC ADRs: XHFNY) is the preferred provider of business and financial data on global publicly listed companies. Currently headquartered in Charlotte, NC and New York City, with sales offices in key North American cities, Mergent also has a strong global presence, with offices in London, Shanghai, Tokyo, Toronto and Sydney. Mergent's databases contain detailed equity, debt and corporate action information on over 15,000 U.S. public companies, 20,000 non-U.S. public companies and all U.S. municipal bonds.

For more than a century Mergent has been providing solutions to clients in the investment management, academic, research and corporate information fields. Today, that unique experience is combined with leading-edge technology to form a robust, diverse product line that operates under Mergent's umbrella. These include; Mergent's Dividend Achievers Indices - the premier benchmark for long-term returns; Ford Equity Research - a leading independent investment research firm; Mergent Online - a powerful web-based research portal that provides critical business information to support daily research and analysis; Mergent Manuals, Handbooks and Investment Guides; in-depth municipal and corporate fixed-income data, as well as end-of-day evaluation pricing; EventsData - providing real-time information on corporate actions, dividend payouts, news and updates directly to clients desktops. For more information, visit our websites, www.mergent.com and www.dividendachievers.com.

About Xinhua Finance Limited

Xinhua Finance Limited is China's unchallenged leader in financial information and media, and is listed on the Mothers board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (symbol: 9399) (OTC ADRs: XHFNY). Bridging China's financial markets and the world, Xinhua Finance serves financial institutions, corporations and re-distributors through four focused and complementary service lines: Indices, Ratings, Financial News and Investor Relations. Founded in November 1999, the Company is headquartered in Shanghai with 20 news bureaus and offices in 19 locations across Asia, Australia, North America and Europe. For more information, please visit www.xinhuafinance.com.

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