Equity Research

S&P Capital IQ Equity Research Regulatory Disclosures and Disclaimers
The following information should be read in conjunction with equity research reports and comments prepared and issued by Standard & Poor’s Equity Research.

The following information should read in conjuction with equity research reports and comments prepared and issued by S&P Capital IQ Equity Research

Products and publications containing equity research reports and comments include, but are not limited to:

• Standard & Poor’s Stock Reports
• The Outlook
• NetAdvantage
• MarketScope Advisor

Required Disclosures 

In contrast to the qualitative STARS recommendations covered in this report, which are determined and assigned by S&P Capital IQ equity analysts, S&P’s quantitative evaluations are derived from S&P’s proprietary Fair Value quantitative model. In particular, the Fair Value Ranking methodology is a relative ranking methodology, whereas the STARS methodology is not. Because the Fair Value model and the STARS methodology reflect different criteria, assumptions and analytical methods, quantitative evaluations may at times differ from (or even contradict) an equity analyst’s STARS recommendations. As a quantitative model, Fair Value relies on history and consensus estimates and does not introduce an element of subjectivity as can be the case with equity analysts in assigning STARS recommendations.

S&P Global STARS Distribution

In North America

As of March 31, 2013, research analysts at S&P Capital IQ Equity Research North America recommended 35.0% of issuers with buy recommendations, 56.0% with hold recommendations and 9.0% with sell recommendations.

In Europe

As of March 31, 2013, research analysts at S&P Capital IQ Equity Research Europe recommended 27.7% of issuers with buy recommendations, 48.6% with hold recommendations and 23.7% with sell recommendations.

In Asia

As of March 31, 2013, research analysts at S&P Capital IQ Equity Research Asia recommended 38.7% of issuers with buy recommendations, 50.3% with hold recommendations and 11.0% with sell recommendations.

Globally

As of March 31, 2013, research analysts at S&P Capital IQ Equity Research globally recommended 34.3% of issuers with buy recommendations, 54.2% with hold recommendations and 11.5% with sell recommendations.

5-STARS (Strong Buy): Total return is expected to outperform the total return of a relevant benchmark, by a wide margin over the coming 12 months, with shares rising in price on an absolute basis.

4-STARS (Buy): Total return is expected to outperform the total return of a relevant benchmark over the coming 12 months, with shares rising in price on an absolute basis.

3-STARS (Hold): Total return is expected to closely approximate the total return of a relevant benchmark over the coming 12 months, with shares generally rising in price on an absolute basis.

2-STARS (Sell): Total return is expected to underperform the total return of a relevant benchmark over the coming 12 months, and the share price is not anticipated to show a gain.

1-STARS (Strong Sell): Total return is expected to underperform the total return of a relevant benchmark by a wide margin over the coming 12 months, with shares falling in price on an absolute basis.

Relevant benchmarks: In North America, the relevant benchmark is the S&P 500 Index, in Europe and in Asia, the relevant benchmarks are generally the S&P Europe 350 Index and the S&P Asia 50 Index.

For All Regions:

All of the views expressed in this research report accurately reflect the research analyst's personal views regarding any and all of the subject securities or issuers. No part of analyst compensation was, is, or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific recommendations or views expressed in this research report.  Analysts generally update stock reports at least four times each year.

S&P Global Quantitative Recommendations Distribution

In North America

As of March 31, 2013, Standard & Poor's Quantitative Services North America recommended 40.0% of issuers with buy recommendations, 20.0% with hold recommendations and 40.0% with sell recommendations.

In Europe

As of March 31, 2013, Standard & Poor's Quantitative Services Europe recommended 41.5% of issuers with buy recommendations, 21.7% with hold recommendations and 36.8% with sell recommendations.

In Asia

As of March 31, 2013, Standard & Poor's Quantitative Services Asia recommended 51.0% of issuers with buy recommendations, 18.8% with hold recommendations and 30.2% with sell recommendations.

Globally

As of March 31, 2013, Standard & Poor's Quantitative Services Asia recommended 51.0% of issuers with buy recommendations, 18.8% with hold recommendations and 30.2% with sell recommendations.

About S&P Capital IQ's Distributors' Disclosures

S&P Capital IQ’s research reports (the “research reports”) have been prepared and issued by S&P Capital IQ and/or one of its affiliates. In the United States, research reports are prepared by Standard & Poor’s Investment Advisory Services LLC (“SPIAS”) and issued by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”), SPIAS is authorized and regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; in the United Kingdom, research reports are issued by McGraw-Hill Financial Research Europe Limited (“MHFRE”), which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and trades as Standard & Poor’s; in Hong Kong, research report are issued by Standard & Poor’s Investment Advisory Services (HK) Limited, which is regulated by the Hong Kong Securities Futures Commission; in Singapore, research report are issued by McGraw-Hill Financial Singapore Pte. Limited (“MHFSPL”), which is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore; in Malaysia, research report are issued by Standard & Poor’s Malaysia Sdn Bhd (“S&PM”), which is regulated by the Securities Commission of Malaysia; in Australia, research report are issued by Standard & Poor’s Information Services (Australia) Pty Ltd (“SPIS”), which is regulated by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission; In Japan, research report are issued by McGraw-Hill Financial Japan KK, which is registered by Kanto Financial Bureau; and in South Korea, research reports are issued by SPIAS, which is also registered in South Korea as a cross-border investment advisory company..

The research and analytical services performed by SPIAS, MHFRE, MHFSPL, S&PM, and SPIS are each conducted separately from any other analytical activity of S&P Capital IQ.

S&P Capital IQ or an affiliate may license certain intellectual property or provide pricing or other services to, or otherwise have a financial interest in, certain issuers of securities, including exchange-traded investments whose investment objective is to substantially replicate the returns of a proprietary Standard & Poor's index, such as the S&P 500. In cases where S&P Capital IQ or an affiliate is paid fees that are tied to the amount of assets that are invested in the fund or the volume of trading activity in the fund, investment in the fund will generally result in S&P Capital IQ or an affiliate earning compensation in addition to the subscription fees or other compensation for services rendered by S&P Capital IQ. A reference to a particular investment or security by S&P Capital IQ and/or one of its affiliates is not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold such investment or security, nor is it considered to be investment advice.

Indexes are unmanaged, statistical composites and their returns do not include payment of any sales charges or fees an investor would pay to purchase the securities they represent.  Such costs would lower performance.  It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

S&P Capital IQ and its affiliates provide a wide range of services to, or relating to, many organizations, including issuers of securities, investment advisers, broker-dealers, investment banks, other financial institutions and financial intermediaries, and accordingly may receive fees or other economic benefits from those organizations, including organizations whose securities or services they may recommend, rate, include in model portfolios, evaluate or otherwise address.  

For details on the S&P Capital IQ research objectivity and conflict-of-interest policies, please visit: http://www.standardandpoors.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobheadername3=MDT-Type&blobcol=urldata&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3DFinal_Research_Objectivity_PolicyEff_12-29-2011.pdf&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobheadername1=content-type&blobwhere=1244053026758&blobheadervalue3=UTF-8

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Disclaimers

For all jurisdictions: Where S&P Cap IQ’s research reports are made available in a language other than English and in the case of inconsistencies between the English and translated versions of a research report, the English version will control and supersede any ambiguities associated with any part or section of a research report that has been issued in a foreign language. . Neither S&P Capital IQ nor its affiliates guarantee the accuracy of the translation. Assumptions, opinions and estimates constitute our judgment as of the date of this material and are subject to change without notice. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

S&P Capital IQ, its affiliates, and any third-party providers, as well as their directors, officers, shareholders, employees or agents (collectively, “S&P Parties”) do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of this material, and S&P Parties shall have no liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions therein, regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of the information provided by the S&P Parties. S&P PARTIES DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SUITABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE. In no event shall S&P Parties be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including, without limitation, lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs) in connection with any use of the information contained in this document even if advised of the possibility of such damages. Capital IQ is a business of S&P Capital IQ.

Ratings from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services are statements of opinion as of the date they are expressed and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or to make any investment decisions. Standard & Poor’s assumes no obligation to update its opinions following publication in any form or format. Standard & Poor’s ratings should not be relied on and are not substitutes for the skill, judgment and experience of the user, its management, employees, advisors and/or clients when making investment and other business decisions. Standard & Poor’s rating opinions do not address the suitability of any security. Standard & Poor’s does not act as a fiduciary. While Standard & Poor’s has obtained information from sources it believes to be reliable, Standard & Poor’s does not perform an audit and undertakes no duty of due diligence or independent verification of any information it receives.

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Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services did not participate in the development of research reports. Standard & Poor’s may receive compensation for its ratings and certain credit-related analyses, normally from issuers or underwriters of securities or from obligors. Standard & Poor’s reserves the right to disseminate its opinions and analyses. Standard & Poor’s public ratings and analyses are made available on its Web sites, www.standardandpoors.com (free of charge), and www.ratingsdirect.com and www.globalcreditportal.com (subscription), and may be distributed through other means, including via Standard & Poor’s publications and third-party redistributors. Additional information about our ratings fees is available at www.standardandpoors.com/usratingsfees.

This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security or other financial instrument. Securities, financial instruments or strategies mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors. Any opinions expressed herein are given in good faith, are subject to change without notice, and are only current as of the stated date of their issue. Prices, values, or income from any securities or investments mentioned in this report may fall against the interests of the investor and the investor may get back less than the amount invested. Where an investment is described as being likely to yield income, please note that the amount of income that the investor will receive from such an investment may fluctuate. Where an investment or security is denominated in a different currency to the investor’s currency of reference, changes in rates of exchange may have an adverse effect on the value, price or income of or from that investment to the investor. The information contained in this report does not constitute advice on the tax consequences of making any particular investment decision. The material is not intended for any specific investor and does not take into account an investor's particular investment objectives, financial situations or needs and is not intended as a recommendation of particular securities, financial instruments or strategies to you. Before acting on any recommendation in this material, you should consider whether it is suitable for your particular circumstances and, if necessary, seek professional advice.

Additional information on the subject company may be available upon request..

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For residents of Brazil: Research reports are distributed by S&P Capital IQ and in compliance with Instruction 483 enacted by Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (the Brazilian Securities Commission) dated as of July 6, 2010, the analyst (where applicable) who prepares a research report or a report extract affirms: (i) that all the views expressed herein and/or in a research report accurately reflect his or her personal views about the securities and issuers; (ii) that all recommendations issued by him or her were independently produced, including from the opinion of the entity in which he or she is an employee and (iii) that he/she has set forth any situation or conflict of interest believed to impact the impartiality of the recommendations herein and/or in a the research report, pursuant to section 17, II of Instruction 483. S&P Capital IQ further declares that there is no situation or conflict of interest believed to impact the impartiality of the recommendations herein and/or made in a research report, pursuant to section 18 of Instruction 483.

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For residents of the European Union:  The following individuals are members of S&P Capital IQ's Equity Research management staff who oversee the preparation and issuance of research reports.

Stephen Biggar (US) stephen_biggar@spcapitaliqom
Lorraine Tan (Asia Pacific) lorraine_tan@spcapitaliq.com
Roger Hirst (Europe) roger_hirst@spcapitaliq.com .

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Performance Disclosure for S&P Capital IQ's STARS Performance Chart

The STARS performance chart represents only the results of S&P Capital IQ model portfolios. Model performance has inherent limitations. S&P Capital IQ maintains the models and calculates the model performance shown, but does not manage actual assets. The U.S. STARS model performance chart is only an illustration of S&P Capital IQ research; it shows how U.S. common stocks, ADRs (American Depositary Receipts) and ADSs (American Depositary Shares), (collectively “equities”), that received particular STARS rankings performed. STARS categories are models only; they are not collective investment funds. The STARS performance does not show how any actual portfolio has performed. STARS model performance does not represent the results of actual trading of investor assets. Thus, the model performance shown does not reflect the impact that material economic and market factors might have had on decision-making if actual investor money had been managed. Performance is calculated using a time-weighted rate of return. While model performance for some or all STARS categories performed better than the S&P 500 for the period shown, the performance during any shorter period may not have, and there is no assurance that they will perform better than the S&P 500 in the future. STARS does not take into account any particular investment objective, financial situation or need and is not intended as an investment recommendation or strategy. Investments based on the STARS methodology may lose money. High returns are not necessarily the norm and there is no assurance that they can be sustained. Past model performance of STARS is no guarantee of future performance.
For model performance calculation purposes, the equities within each STARS category at December 31, 1986 were equally weighted. Thereafter, additions to the composition of the equities in each STARS category are made at the average value of the STARS category at the preceding month end with no rebalancing. The average value of the equity equals the total market value of the STARS category at the prior month-end divided by the number of equities in the STARS category at the prior month-end. The number of shares of the new equity added equals the average value of an equity in the STARS category at the preceding month-end divided by the price of the added equity at the close of the day it was added. The number of shares remains fixed unless there is a subsequent distribution. Subsequent to the addition of the equity, the performance calculation is based on the number of shares and the daily closing prices. An equity is deleted in its entirety, and the deletion is made at the closing price of the day that the deletion is made. Performance was calculated from inception through March 31, 2003 on a monthly basis. Thereafter, performance is calculated daily. Equities in each STARS category will change over time, and some or all of the equities that received STARS rankings during the time period shown may not have maintained their STARS ranking during the entire period.
Model performance does not include dividends. Also, model performance does not consider taxes and brokerage commissions, nor does it reflect the deduction of any advisory or other fees charged by advisors or other parties that investors will incur when their accounts are managed in accordance with the models. The imposition of these fees and charges would cause actual performance to be lower than the performance shown. For example, if a model returned 10 percent on a $100,000 investment for a 12-month period (or $10,000) and an annual asset-based fee of 1.5 percent were imposed at the end of the period (or $1,650), the net return would be 8.35 percent (or $8,350) for the year. Over 3 years, an annual 1.5% fee taken at year end with an assumed 10% return per year would result in a cumulative gross return of 33.1%, a total fee of $5,375 and a cumulative net return of 27.2% (or $27,200). Fees deducted on a frequency other than annual would result in a different cumulative net return in the preceding example.
The S&P 500 index is the benchmark for U.S. STARS. The S&P 500 index is calculated in U.S. dollars and does not take into account dividends. Indexes are unmanaged, statistical composites and their returns do not include payment of any sales charges or fees an investor would pay to purchase the securities they represent. Such costs would lower performance. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. The S&P 500 index includes a different number of constituents and has different risk characteristics than the STARS equities. Some of the STARS equities may have been included in the S&P 500 index for some (but not necessarily all) of the period covered in the chart, and some such equities may not have been included at all. The S&P 500 excludes ADRs and ADSs. The methodology for calculating the return of the S&P 500 index differs from the methodology of calculating the return for STARS. Past performance of the S&P 500 index is no guarantee of future performance.

An investment based upon the models should only be made after consulting with a financial advisor and with an understanding of the risks associated with any investment in securities, including, but not limited to, market risk, currency risk, political and credit risks, the risk of economic recession and the risk that issuers of securities or general stock market conditions may worsen, over time. Foreign investing involves certain risks, including currency fluctuations and controls, restrictions on foreign investments, less governmental supervision and regulation, less liquidity and the potential for market volatility and political instability. As with any investment, investment returns and principal value will fluctuate, so that when redeemed, an investor’s shares may be worth more or less than their original cost.