FUND DESCRIPTION: SPDR S&P Intl Dividend ETF is an exchange-traded index fund or Index ETF which is a separate investment portfolio of the SPDR Index Shares Fund, an investment management company. INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE: The SPDR S&P International Dividend ETF seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before expenses, the price and yield performance of the S&P International Dividend Opportunities Index. INDEX DESCRIPTION: The S&P International Dividend Opportunities Index is designed to measure the performance of the 100 highest dividend-yielding common stocks and American depository reciepts listed in primary exchanges of countries included in the S&P/Citigroup Broad Market Index. The Index will be reconstituted annually. To be included in the Index, stocks must meet, as of the reference date (the last trading date of June and December), the following investability criteria: a total market capitalization greater than $1.5 billion; a three-month average daily value traded greater than $5 million; and at least 300,000 shares traded monthly for each of the preceding six months. Additionally, stocks must meet the following stability factor: positive 5-year earnings growth and profitability, as measured by positive earning per share. To ensure diverse exposure, no single country or sector has more than 25% weight in the Index and emerging market exposure is limited to 10% at rebalancing. Common stocks of companies domiciled in the United States, derivatives, structured products, over-the-counter listings, mutual funds and exchange traded funds are not eligible for inclusion in the Index. The market capitalization and liquidity thresholds are subject to change according to market conditions. Countries covered in the Index have historically included, among others, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Canada. As of December 31, 2009, the Index was comprised of 97 securities. FUND STRATEGY: Under normal market conditions, the Fund generally invests substantially all, but at least 80%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the Index. The Fund uses a passive management, indexing investment approach, and sampling methodology designed to track the total return performance of the Index. The Fund does not intend to purchase all of the securities in the Index, but rather will utilize a sampling methodology in seeking the Fund's objective by purchasing a subset of the securities in the Index in an effort to hold a portfolio of securities with generally the same risk and return characteristics of the Index. The quantity of holdings in the Fund will be based on a number of factors, including asset size of the Fund. The Fund reserves the right to hold as many securities as it believes necessary to achieve the Fund's investment objective. FUND MANAGEMENT: SSgA FM serves as the investment adviser to the Fund, subject to the supervision of the Board, is responsible for the investment management of the Fund.
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