Arctic Tern Equity Indices
The Arctic Tern Equity Indices define the universe and measure the performance of globally listed companies with economic exposure to the Arctic region. Developed by regional experts, the indices track over 180 public companies either domiciled in, having significant operations in, or providing services important to the Arctic.
Companies are screened and organized around Arctic-specific economic themes:
Arctic Blue Economy Index
Arctic Clean Energy Index
Arctic Eco-Tourism Index
Arctic Industry & Infrastructure Index
Arctic Technology & Finance Index
The thematic sub-indices are aggregated to create an investable composite index of the Arctic economy:
The Arctic Index is the first and only equity benchmark for the Arctic—both as a region and a 21st-century sustainable investment theme.
See Arctic Tern Equity Indices Overview for methodology & additional information.
Geographic Scope
The Arctic Tern Equity Indices adhere to the Arctic Council’s Arctic Human Development Report (AHDR) definition of the Arctic. The AHDR boundary includes Alaska, Canadian territories north of 60°N together with northern Quebec and Labrador, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and the northernmost counties of Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine all Russian companies and companies doing business in the Russian Arctic were removed from the Arctic Tern Equity Indices.
See Geographic Scope supplement for more information.
Map: Arctic Portal, AHDR
Sustainable Development
The Arctic is a global center for sustainable development, with Iceland and Norway leading the world in fossil-fuel independence, and is home to 6 of the top-12 most fossil fuel-independent countries. The region is also a hub for Europe’s cutting-edge tech R&D, an attractive area for data centers with its abundant clean energy and cool temperatures, strategically located for new telecommunications and shipping routes, and boasts preferential placement of its financial institutions to drive development. The Arctic is poised for an explosion in infrastructure development, from ports and airstrips to hotels and housing, with construction and engineering firms that boast the highest sustainability standards and operating in strict regulatory environments. The Arctic’s advantages of geography, political stability, and resource concentration will play a growing role in the new climate economy.
The Arctic Tern Equity Indices track publicly traded firms touching all of these sub-sectors and themes. For the first time, investors have a way to monitor, track, and gain exposure to a broad swath of Arctic companies outside of the oil and gas and precious metals industries. This is an important aspect of raising the sustainable investment profile of the region and provides global investors a benchmark to track its economic performance.