THE Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is set to introduce new indices this year to cater to the index service requirements of a broader investor base. Among the new indices is the PSEi Total Return Index (PSEi TRI). A TRI gauges the overall return on the index, factoring both capital gains and dividend payments, if these dividends are reinvested back into the index. “We have always been focused on investment gains from price appreciation. As done in other markets, we want to show the bigger picture on the profitability of stock and index investing,” said PSE president and chief executive officer Ramon S. Monzon. To calculate the PSEi TRI, the Exchange used 1,000 as the base value, with Dec. 28, 2007 as the base year. The PSEi TRI closed at 2,771.01 on Dec. 28, 2018. This represents a 10-year cumulative gain of 417.6 percent compared with a 298.6 percent rise in the PSEi from 2008 to 2018. A five-year computation of the PSEi TRI shows a growth of 38.7 percent compared with a 26.8 percent increase in the PSEi. The PSEi TRI has the same constituents as the PSEi and integrates regular and special cash dividends of index components on ex-date. If there are changes in the composition of the PSEi, the same will be reflected in the PSEi TRI. (PR)