Direct Answer
The S&P Africa 40 is a rule-based measurement of top 40 leading blue-chip companies across Sub-Saharan African markets, maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices. Like every index it owns nothing: it is a number produced by applying a published weighting formula to a selected list of companies, revised on a schedule the provider sets.
What this index covers
The S&P Africa 40 covers top 40 leading blue-chip companies across Sub-Saharan African markets, within the Sub-Saharan Africa market. S&P Dow Jones Indices defines which securities are eligible, how they are selected from that pool, and how much each one contributes to the published number.
The name states a target of 40 companies. A target is not a guarantee of the exact count on any given day: corporate actions, dual share classes and pending additions all move the real number around it.
How constituents are weighted
Float-adjusted market capitalization weighted at each rebalancing, subject to two caps: no stock may exceed 8% and no country may exceed 30%. Any excess weight is redistributed proportionally to the uncapped constituents.
The weighting method is the single biggest driver of how an index behaves. Two indexes covering the same market can diverge for years purely because they weight differently, which is why comparing index levels without knowing the method tells you very little.
What qualifies for inclusion
Companies must be domiciled in Africa or have more than 50% of assets and operations in Africa, including developed market listings. Stocks need a float-adjusted market cap of at least US$ 100 million and a three-month average daily value traded of at least US$ 1 million. Each company is represented once by its designated listing.
Eligibility rules are the part of an index most readers never look at and the part that decides what it can possibly measure. A screen that excludes a whole sector, or admits only one listing venue, shapes the result far more than any day of trading does.
How long a listing must exist first
IPOs must have a trading history of at least three months as of the rebalancing reference date, and their available trading value data is annualized for the liquidity test.
A seasoning rule is why a large new listing does not appear in an index the week it starts trading. It is a deliberate lag, and it means an index can under-represent a fast-growing part of the market for months at a time.
When the membership is revised
Rebalanced twice a year, effective after the close of the third Friday of June and December. Reference dates for selection are the third Friday of May and November, and the price reference date for weighting is the Wednesday before the second Friday of the rebalancing month.
Reconstitution is the one date an index changes shape by design rather than by price. Funds tracking it have to trade toward the new membership, which is why the schedule matters to anyone holding the tracker rather than only to the provider.
The rule that surprises people
Selection takes the 40 largest eligible stocks by float-adjusted market cap but allows at most eight per country. If a country would exceed eight, the next largest eligible stock from a country with fewer than eight is chosen instead.
References
- S&P Dow Jones Indices: S&P Dow Jones Indices S&P Frontier Indices Methodology, as published 2024. Every rule described on this page is taken from this document.
Current S&P Africa 40 constituents
S&P Dow Jones Indices publishes and licenses the S&P Africa 40 constituent list. Swoopr does not republish it here. The provider's own page is the authoritative source for current membership and weights.
Related reading
- All stock market indexes: how indexes are built, weighted and revised.
- Emerging Markets indexes: others covering the same region.
- Index concentration: measuring how much of an index sits in its largest holdings.
- Index rebalancing and inclusion effects: what happens to a stock when index membership changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who maintains the S&P Africa 40?
S&P Dow Jones Indices maintains the S&P Africa 40 and publishes the methodology document that defines its eligibility and weighting rules.
What does the S&P Africa 40 measure?
It measures top 40 leading blue-chip companies across Sub-Saharan African markets. The index is a calculated number applying a weighting formula to a selected list of companies, and it holds nothing itself.
Where can I see the current S&P Africa 40 constituents?
S&P Dow Jones Indices publishes the current constituent list. Swoopr does not republish it, because index providers license constituent data and Swoopr holds no such licence.