Bats Europe has announced the launch of eight new indices for the French, German Swiss and Italian markets, due to go live on 19 December.
The exchange operator is expanding its index services following the launch of 18 UK-focused indices, covering large to small-cap securities across 12 industry sectors in June this year.
Bats’ indices are published in real-time and provide accurate index data valued using its market data.
As part of the expansion, Bats’ licensing process has also been simplified to cut costs for those committing to the service long-term.
Mark Hemsley, chief executive officer at Bats Europe, explained many investors across Europe have expressed frustration at the rising costs of index data.
He said the exchange is aiming to “provide investors and traders with real-time, high-quality benchmark indices in a cost effective manner as we challenge the incumbent index providers and bring competition to this vital part of the market.”
Rudolf Siebel, managing director at the German investment Funds Association, added he believes the industry “will benefit from increased competition and choice when it comes to benchmark indices.”