In this episode of FTSE Russell Index Ideas, Hannah Layman, head of sustainable index research and design at FTSE Russell, describes how she uses FTSE Russell’s “weight explainer” tool to help clients understand and communicate the drivers of different weight positions, especially in indices for sustainable investment.

• (00:00:00) - Introduction
• (00:00:47) - Why we need a "weight explainer" tool
• (00:01:52) - The drawbacks of optimisation
• (00:03:00) - Explaining weights with a tilt-based methodology
• (00:04:10) - Using the weight explainer in a sustainable index
• (00:05:18) - Does the number of tilts you apply matter?
• (00:07:16) - The impact of correlation
• (00:08:44) - Feedback from clients and use cases

In this episode of FTSE Russell Index Ideas, Wanming Du, director of index policy in the Asia-Pacific region for FTSE Russell, explains why we are reclassifying Vietnam from a frontier market to an emerging market and what this means for the country’s inclusion in flagship FTSE Russell equity benchmarks.

• (00:00:00) - Introduction
• (00:01:45) - The role of FTSE Russell's policy team
• (00:03:45) - Vietnam's classification change
• (00:05:33) - Reasons for reclassification
• (00:06:35) - Working with regulators
• (00:07:15) - Importance of market infrastructure
• (00:08:27) - Free float in Asian emerging markets
• (00:10:16) - External advisory committees
• (00:11:19) - Other markets

In this episode of Index Ideas, Arne Noack, Head of Equity and Multi-Asset Indices, Americas, at FTSE Russell, describes our approach to building global equity benchmarks—from country selection to regional and size classifications and current demands from clients for more customised exposures.

• (00:00:00) - Intro & Season 2 Kickoff
• (00:00:42) - Guest Welcome: Arne Noack
• (00:00:52) - How to Measure the Global Equity Market
• (00:01:40) - Who Uses the FTSE All‑World & How
• (00:02:47) - Developed vs Emerging: How the Split Shifts
• (00:03:52) - Size Bands & Regional Methodology
• (00:05:47) - Index Names Across Providers & Country Classification Differences
• (00:08:13) - Eligibility: From Rulebooks to Quality of Markets Matrix
• (00:10:18) - How Membership Changes: Rebalances & Watchlists
• (00:11:31) - Reclassification Examples: Korea & Vietnam
• (00:12:25) - Advisory Committees & Governance
• (00:13:56) - Ex‑US & Regional Variants + Close

In this episode of FTSE Russell Index Ideas, Ali Zaidi, Head of Real Assets & Alternatives at FTSE Russell and Tyler Johnson, Chief Technology Officer for StepStone Group, talk about the objectives, design and use cases of the new FTSE StepStone Global Private Market Indices.

In this episode of Index Ideas, Stephanie Maier, Global Head of Sustainable at FTSE Russell, discusses the results of FTSE Russell’s 8th Annual Sustainable Investment Asset Owner Survey, released in December 2025. She describes investors’ rising concerns about climate risk and argues that sustainable investment is very much alive and well.

In this episode of FTSE Russell Index Ideas, Andreas Schroeder, head of index design (EMEA) at FTSE Russell talks about the objectives and requirements of an EU Paris-aligned equity index. He explains how FTSE Russell’s researchers choose between different index designs when meeting those requirements.

In this episode of FTSE Russell Index Ideas, Lee Clements, Director of Applied Sustainable Investment Research at FTSE Russell, explains how indices can help guide those investing in the green economy. He describes FTSE Russell’s green revenues data, how it's organised and overseen and how the data feeds into our environmental equity indices.

In this episode of FTSE Russell Index Ideas, Robin Marshall, director of fixed income research at FTSE Russell, talks about the 40-year legacy of the FTSE World Government Bond Index (FTSE WGBI), the global standard for the sovereign debt markets.