Washington state stock index up 86 pct in first year
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SEATTLE, Sept 13 (Reuters) - An index tracking shares of
the 100 largest publicly-owned companies in Washington state
rose 85.6 percent in its first year, its publisher,
Northwestern Trust and Investors Advisory Co., said on Monday.
The Washington 100 Index includes many established
companies like Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT),
Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE:WY) and Washington Mutual Inc. (NYSE:WM).
But Northwestern attributes much of the index's explosive
growth to the broad array of technology pioneers in the Puget
Sound area, including Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Go2net Inc.
(NASDAQ:GNET).
"In the not-too-distant past Washington's basic economic
core only included Boeing, paper and forest products and
agriculture. The ... index highlights the growth of these
sectors and also celebrates the new, hot local technology
sector," Northwest Chief Investment Officer Peter Glidden said.
Like its much bigger cousin, the Dow Jones industrial
average, the Washington 100 is price-weighted.
If it were pegged to each company's market value, like the
Standard & Poor's 500, the index would be heavily dependent on
the movements of software giant Microsoft's stock, Northwestern
investment associate Kevin Nicholson explained.
Seattle-based Northwestern currently operates a fund that
mimics the Washington 100 Index, but it currently serves only
qualified employee benefit plans like 401(k)s and has assets of
just $500,000.
The privately-held trust company is considering converting
that fund into a mutual fund open to all investor types,
Nicholson said.
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