Editors’ Note: Tracking Stock and Bond Indexes

Editors' Note: Tracking Stock and Bond Indexes

Long-time MarketMinder readers may recall the site used to contain a link in the Global Market Update section to a third-party website's chart of the MSCI World Net Return Index. If you look today, you'll notice it's not there. The reason it's disappeared is the third-party site put this and all MSCI index data behind a pay wall. A fine thing for them to do, but one rendering our link to the page null and void.

We've attempted to locate another reliable source we can link to in order to provide this data; however, there's no one-click destination we've been able to uncover to accomplish this. We'll continue to look, and if we find one, we'll add it back.

Until then, for those of you who care to follow the MSCI Index, what follows are step-by-step instructions to access this information reliably and with as much ease as possible. We know this isn't as convenient, and for that we apologize.

In addition, for those wanting to follow a broad bond index, we're including instructions below to access the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch 7-10 Year Corporate-Government Bond Index.

Accessing the MSCI World Net Return Index

• Follow this link to MSCI's webpage housing index data
• You'll have to read and accept MSCI's terms and conditions-should you accept these terms and conditions, click the "agree" button near the bottom of the page
• Next to "Index Level" choose "Net" from the dropdown and click "Search"-this will load developed market indexes including net dividends (dividends after estimated Luxembourg withholding taxes)
• From the list of indexes shown, scroll down to index labeled "WORLD" – that is the MSCI World Index. Returns over various periods are available in the table.
• For an index chart, click on the index's name. Please note you will have to change "Index Level" to net again when the chart page loads. You can change the start and end date from the boxes under the graph.

Accessing the BofA Merrill Lynch 7-10 Year Corporate-Government Bond Index

• Go to http://www.mlindex.ml.com/gispublic/default.asp
• Click on "New User Sign Up"-there is no charge, though you will be required to enter some information. Click "Continue." (Returning visitors should only need to enter their email address.)

FOR A CHART OF THE INDEX:

• Find the "Index/Bond ID" field in the box labeled "Index Charts & Data" in the upper right of the resulting screen and enter the index's ticker-"B4A0" and press enter.

FOR NUMERICAL RETURN DATA

• Find the box labeled "Index Snapshot" in the middle right of the page. Enter "B4A0" in the "Index Ticker" field and press enter. Returns should appear below.