Singapore's first ever equity fund index was launched today by Fundsupermart.com, Singapore's leading online distributor of unit funds.

The FEFI, or the FSM All-Equity Fund Index, is the first of its kind in the local unit trust industry.

Mr Wong Sui Jau, General Manager of Fundsupermart.com in Singapore and Malaysia, said: "The Dow Jones index, the FTSE Straits Times Index (STI), and many other indices are all well known to investors who use these indices as barometers of how markets are doing. In a similar light, this new FEFI will be a barometer for how equity funds in Singapore are performing."

The index will track 228 unique equity funds currently available in Fundsupermart.com. Included funds must be open-ended funds with available daily NAV pricing. Only unique funds are included to avoid the duplication of returns.

The FEFI, which is calculated on a daily basis, is equal-weighted so that each fund in the index contributes equally to the overall index return. It was incepted at 1,000 points on December 31, 2008, with the index performance backdated to December 31, 2002 for reference purposes. The index is reviewed twice a year to incorporate or review new funds to the platform.

The public can access the FEFI at www.fundsupermart.com.