S&P Revises REIT Composite Index

Standard & Poor's and Morgan Stanley Capital International have announced forthcoming revisions to their Global Industry Classification Standard that will result in major classification changes in the S&P REIT Composite Index.Effective after the close of business on April 28, the GICS structure will discontinue the Real Estate Industry and replace it with two industries formerly classified as subindustries: the Real Estate Investment Trust Industry and the Real Estate Management & Development Industry. S&P said the elevation of REITs to industry status will bring with it the creation of seven new subindustries: Diversified, Industrial, Mortgage, Office, Residential, Retail, and Specialized REITs. The REIT subindustries will be reflected in the S&P REIT Composite Index. Further information on the standard can be found online at http://www.standardandpoors.com/gics.