The Index Industry Association (IIA) marked the 10th Anniversary of its founding with a closing bell ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). I was joined to commemorate this important occasion by NYSE President Lynn Martin, a former IIA Board Member, IIA Chair Dan Draper of S&P Global and representatives from our member firms Bloomberg, CBOE, FTSE Russell, Morningstar, MSCI, Qontigo and ICE. The bell ringing event marks the start of a year-long education and outreach campaign by the IIA to raise awareness of the central role indices play in the financial system and the innovation and savings brought to investors over the last decade and the decades to come.

I would like to thank all our members who took time out of their busy schedules competing against one another to join us for this momentous event. It was truly amazing to share the podium with leaders from the industry in front of so many representatives of our member firms. As I rang the bell and Dan Draper struck the gavel, I thought of all the work we’ve done over the past ten years since the founding of IIA. In that relatively short time period, we’ve earned the right to serve as the unified voice of the global index industry, a trusted source for educational materials for investors and stakeholders in the financial services sector and a trusted provider of data on indices and benchmarks. From its original founding by FTSE, MSCI and S&P Global, and the IIA now represents the industry globally, with members headquartered on three continents.

The Index Industry Association was founded in 2012 with a mandate to educate investors on the attributes and role of indexes within the investment process, advance the interests of index users and providers worldwide, and to push for industry standards of best practice, independence and transparency. This moment was a fantastic reminder of that mission statement and how far we have come. Indexing is at a critical time in its history. With more competition than ever before, having clear and transparent communication has never been more important. IIA is committed to continuing its mission in this crucial time and advancing the index industry to even greater heights.

This ceremony was a great day for the indexing industry as a whole and the culmination of years of hard work from our member firms. After all, it is the IIA members who have raised the bar for integrity and transparency in the index industry. They have enabled investors to save hundreds of billions across all segments of the investment landscape during these past ten years.

I would again like to express my deepest thanks to everyone who was able to join us and all of those who’s hard work has made the IIA what it is today. The IIA is a success because of the hard work of numerous dedicated members of our Board, Marketing and Communications and Advocacy Committees.

I look forward to celebrating our anniversary with the members headquartered in Europe and Asia in future events.