Brand Index: A New Suggestion for Stock Market Indices

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to propose a new index for stock markets called the ‘brand index’. The paper measures the performance of the brand index in terms of return and risk and compares this performance with the performance of other indices. The brand index is calculated for the period of 2007-2018. It is composed of the firms included in ‘Brand Finance Turkey 100' annual reports published by Brand Finance and also listed on the Borsa Istanbul (BIST). The performance of the brand index is compared with the performance of three alternative share indices (BIST30, BIST50 and BIST100). The results show that the brand index has the highest performance in all performance measures compared to benchmark indices, yielding higher returns with lower risk. Accordingly, the brand index could be an alternative index for investors willing to invest in an index mutual fund or exchange traded funds. This is the first paper to propose a brand index in terms of an emerging market. This index consisting of strong brands is proposed as an alternative index that can be calculated in the capital markets, especially since the index is advantageous for investors in index funds. © 2023 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.