AMP, devalued Myer hit in reshuffle

AMP has been booted off the index of Australia’s top-20 listed companies after damning revelations at the financial services royal commission prompted a slump in the group’s market value.

And a string of other highprofile companies, including Incitec Pivot, GrainCorp, Retail Food Group and Myer, have also been relegated in the latest reshuffle of key market indices.

S&P Dow Jones Indices, which compiles the key Australian Securities Exchange indices, yesterday announced AMP had been dropped from the ASX 20. It has been replaced in the index of corporate Australia’s big hitters by Melbourne-based packaging giant Amcor.

AMP shed more than $2 billion in market value over two weeks in April..

Financial technology group Afterpay Touch, software company Appen and chicken supplier Ingham’s were all included in the benchmark ASX 200 index.

Dropped were document storage group Iron Mountain, Asaleo Care — owner of brands including Sorbent toilet paper and Libra sanitary products — and Retail Food Group, which owns Gloria Jean’s Coff- ees, Donut King and other chains.

The rankings are used by fund managers and shareholders to help choose companies to invest in.

“As companies are removed from or added to benchmarks they become more or less likely to be bought or sold by powerful money managers,” said Motley Fool analyst Tom Richardson.

“Companies added to the top 200 index can receive a big boost.”

Each quarter, S&P rebalances key ASX indices according to the market capitalisation of each company, along with its liquidity — loosely, how easy it is to buy and sell its shares.

Waste-management company Bingo Industries, resources group Clean Teq Holdings and lithium miner Kidman Resources were promoted to the ASX All Australian 200.