Lenders Added to Financial Indexes

E-LOAN said it became a member of the Russell Investment Group’s family of U.S. indexes, which are used by investment managers and institutional investors to index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. The online direct lender reported it would be incorporated into the Russell 3000 Index, the Russell 2000 Index and the new Russell Microcap Index.

Russell determines membership for its equity indexes primarily by objective, market capitalization rankings and style attributes.

“We are very pleased that our market capitalization has grown to meet the size requirement for inclusion in the Russell indexes,” said Pleasanton, Calif.-based E-LOAN CEO Mark Lefanowicz in the announcement. “We believe this higher level of visibility is an important turning point for E-LOAN and our shareholders.”

New York-based Delta Financial Corp. also has been integrated into the same Russell lists, the nonprime originator announced Monday.

“We believe the company’s inclusion in these highly visible, nationwide indices will bring Delta’s story to a significantly broader range of investors who rely on the Russell indices as a key part of their investment strategy,” said Delta CEO and President Hugh Miller in a written statement.

Membership in the Russell 3000 remains in place for one year, offers investors a “comprehensive, unbiased, and stable barometer of the broad [equities] market” and represents 98% of the U.S. market. Companies included in the Russell 3000 are automatically included in the large-cap Russell 1000, which lists the largest 1000 securities within the 3000 and represent about 92 percent of the market, or are placed in the small-cap Russell 2000, which represents the smallest 2000 securities, according to the index provider company.

The Russell Microcap Index will be comprised of the smallest 1,000 securities in the small-cap Russell 2000 plus the next 1,000 companies based on a ranking of all U.S. equities by market capitalization, Russell Investment said.

Final membership in the Russell indexes will reportedly be published on July 1.