Guidelines and further details about WilderHill Wind Energy Index (WNX) are here, and here.

The Wind Energy Index (WNX) is comprised of global companies whose innovative technologies focus on advancing wind energy and helping to enable its use.

These companies facilitate a transition to a lower carbon economy through improving wind turbines and blades, providing materials used in wind energy, modernizing the grid and throughinnovations facilitating greater wind deployment or expanding its use. The index comprises of companies involved in onshore and offshore wind energy, and rebalances Quarterly.

Index Universe Requirements

The INDEX UNIVERSE is comprised of all financial instruments which fulfill the below requirements:

To be eligible for potential Index inclusion, each financial instrument must have:

1. a primary listing in one of the countries that are part of the Developed Markets as defined by the Solactive Country Classification (see https://www.solactive.com/documents/ ), plus South Korea, Taiwan and China. China A-shares are eligible for inclusion provided they are available through the Stock Connect program and WilderHill has the relevant license in place with the exchange.

The determination of the INDEX UNIVERSE is fully rule-based and WilderHill cannot make any discretionary decisions.

Based on the Index Universe, the initial composition of the Index as well as any selection for an ordinary rebalance is determined on the Selection Day in accordance with the following rules (the “Index Component Requirements“):

• Average Total Market Capitalization in the 3 months prior to and including the Selection Day is larger than USD 100mn.
• Average Daily Value Traded over the last 3 months prior to the Selection Day is larger than USD 1 million for new index components.
• Average Daily Value Traded over the last 3 months prior to the Selection Day is larger than USD 750K for existing index components.

The Stock Selection Committee^[1] of WilderHill determines securities as in 1 of 4 sectors. Companies are assessed by this Advisory Committee / WilderHill based on their work furthering onshore & offshore wind energy. Affiliation of company to a sector is estimated by WilderHill, with respect to below sector definitions^[2]. All Companies assigned to one of 4 sectors below, are selected as Index Components:

• Smarter Grid in Wind Energy

Eligible companies include software and hardware solution providers that improve wind energy outputs in smart grids and microgrids. Companies eligible for inclusion in this Sector may be working to deliver improvements in efficient generation, transmission and distribution systems. Technologies considered will aim at improving relevant demand-side management reducing wind-to-grid losses midstream, and improving wind turbine, converter or generator designs or operations. Companies looking at smarter ways to store wind power, or to convert intermittent wind energy to green hydrogen, methanol, ethanol, etc. are also considered. 

• Wind Farms

Eligible companies include wind farm developers, engineering firms, utilities companies and other companies involved in expanding wind power output. Companies focusing on the infrastructure for expanding onshore wind installations of all kinds, as well as special vessels to expand offshore wind, such as cables and installations for managing power generated by offshore wind. Companies involved in community-based power, and other ways of sharing and distributing wind farm outputs are also considered.

• Wind Materials

Companies involved in the extraction and processing of raw materials relevant to wind energy and those improving these efficiencies are included in this sector. This includes companies involved in rare earth materials used in wind turbines, both the precursors and the advanced carbon composites as well as other materials required in the composition and manufacture of blades, steel and the more specialised materials used in turbine generators, converters, and support structures. In addition, companies with the engineering expertise in designing and manufacturing wind infrastructure alternative materials are also considered. 

• Wind Innovation

Companies that are involved in the development of techniques, methods and technologies that provide efficiencies in wind energy. Such methods may include new ways to design, site, construct, and manage offshore wind, the construction of larger turbines and realisation of efficiencies to identify wind-swept areas or blades to better capture wind energy, either onshore or offshore.  

The assignment of a company to a sector by WilderHill is based on meaningful exposure to wind energy, with a company having relevant business activities in new energy innovation as described in the Sector definitions. Companies eligible for inclusion in Index must have at least 10% of their activities in clean energy, with a meaningful exposure to wind energy (as determined by WilderHill) and without significant fossil fuel exposure other than described in the Sector definitions. Whilst considering affiliation of a company to a sector, WilderHill also assesses the sustainability credentials of each company to ensure that all components are considered to be sustainable. To that end, companies are assessed based on whether they are deemed to help the world decarbonize and reduce climate risk generally, while there are additional wider considerations on whether companies help to prevent pollution and contribute to a more circular economy. Indicators of sustainability for the above assessment include but are not limited to having: low Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, low or no exposure to the fossil fuel sector, small or no exposure to non-renewable/or nuclear energy production and consumption, no association to activities that negatively affect biodiversity-sensitive areas, low pollution and low or no emissions into water/seas, and a low hazardous waste ratio.  

The Index Administrator has outsourced the selection of the INDEX COMPONENTS to WilderHill. Such outsourcing has been made in accordance with the requirements of the BMR (Article 10 BMR). Any discretionary decision of WilderHill will be made in accordance with specifications regarding the exercise of discretion or expert judgement established by the INDEX ADMINISTRATOR.

Furthermore, the following steps are applied by the Index Administrator:

• Exclude companies breaching the UNGC principles (non-compliant per Sustainalytics’ global standards screening research).
• Exclude companies with Severe controversies (as per Sustainalytics’ controversy research) as well as companies with involvement in harmful business activities (as per Sustainalytics’ business involvement research).
• Exclude companies with Severe ESG Risk Rating (as per Sustainalytics’ ESG risk research)

Companies not covered by Sustainalytics research under any of the above categories will be ineligible for index selection. For more details on the actual fields as well as the thresholds applied for the exclusion, please refer to the table below:

WEIGHTING OF THE INDEX COMPONENTS

On each Selection Day each Index Component is assigned an equal weight.

Index Selection  

On each SELECTION DAY, WilderHill will revise the composition of the WNX INDEX. In a first step, WilderHill determines INDEX UNIVERSE. The INDEX UNIVERSE comprises all those financial instruments which fulfill the INDEX UNIVERSE REQUIREMENTS and will constitute a starting pool from which the components of INDEX will be selected. Based on this INDEX UNIVERSE, new composition of INDEX is determined; each new INDEX COMPONENT is assigned a weight. 

Ordinary Rebalance

In order to reflect the new selection of the Index Components determined on the Selection Day, the Index is adjusted on the Rebalance Day after Close of Business.

This is carried out by implementing the weights as determined on the Selection Day

For more information on the rebalance procedure please refer to the Equity Index Methodology, which is incorporated by reference and available on the Solactive website: https://www.solactive.com/documents/equity-index-methodology/.

Solactive will publish any changes made to the Index Components with sufficient notice before the Rebalance Day on the Solactive website, which is available at https://www.solactive.com/news/announcements/

Market Consultation of October 2024: https://www.solactive.com/market-consultation-several-wilderhill-indices-october-2024

Extraordinary Rebalance

The Index is not rebalanced extraordinarily.

Identifiers and Publication

The Index is published under the following identifiers:

*PR, NTR, GTR means that the Index is calculated as price return, net total return, gross total return Index as described in the Equity Index Methodology, which is available on the SOLACTIVE website: https://www.solactive.com/documents/equity-index-methodology/

The INDEX is published on the website of the INDEX ADMINISTRATOR (www.solactive.com) and is, in addition, available via the price marketing services of Boerse Stuttgart GmbH and may be distributed to all of its affiliated vendors. Each vendor decides on an individual basis as to whether it will distribute or display the INDEX via its information systems. Any publication in relation to the INDEX (e.g. notices, amendments to the GUIDELINE) will be available at the website of the INDEX ADMINISTRATOR: https://www.solactive.com/news/announcements/.

Initial Level of the Index

The initial level of the Index on the 30/11/2020, the Start Date, is 100. Historical values from the 17/06/2022, the Live Date, will be recorded in accordance with Article 8 of the BMR. Levels of the Index published for a period prior to the Live Date have been back-tested.

Prices and calculation frequency

The level of the Index is calculated on each Calculation Day from 01:00 a.m. to 10:50 p.m. CET based on the Trading Prices on the Exchanges on which the Index Components are listed. Trading Prices of Index Components not listed in the Index Currency are converted using the current Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) spot foreign exchange rate. Should there be no current Trading Price for an Index Component, the later of: (i) the most recent Closing Price; or (ii) the last available Trading Price for the preceding Trading Day is used in the calculation.

In addition to the intraday calculation a closing level of the INDEX for each CALCULATION DAY is also calculated. This closing level is based on the CLOSING PRICES for the INDEX COMPONENTS on the respective EXCHANGES on which the INDEX COMPONENTS are listed. The CLOSING PRICES of INDEX COMPONENTS not listed in the INDEX CURRENCY are converted using the 04:00 p.m. London time WM Fixing quoted by Reuters. 

[1] The Stock Selection Committee consists of prominent individuals from the spheres of wind energy & clean/new energy, finance, climate science, technology, politics and communications. The profile of current Committee members is available at https://wildershares.com

[2] Detailed Sector descriptions also available and maintained for all Indexes, at https://wildershares.com   

[i] See the latest Solactive List of Developed Countries, https://www.solactive.com/documents

[ii] For details on fields and thresholds applied for exclusion, please refer to individual Index at, Methodology

The ECO Index® is owned by WilderShares. NEX, H2X, WNX Indexes are owned by WilderHill New Energy Finance.

ECO Index is calculated by the NYSE. The NEX, H2X, WNX are calculated by Solactive AG in Germany. (March 2023)