Standard & Poor’s Global Nuclear Energy Index recorded a total return of 13.88 per cent in the third quarter, outperforming the S&P 500 which returned 11.29 per cent.

The index comprises 24 of the largest publicly traded companies in nuclear energy related businesses that meet investability requirements, thus providing liquid exposure to the global nuclear energy business. 

The ten largest companies by market cap in the index are AMEC, McDermott International, Cameco, Tokyo Electric Power, JGC, Iberdrola, Exelon, E.ON, Shaw Group and NextEra Energy.

There have been a series of significant developments in nuclear energy policy recently.

The UK Energy Minister announced that the country expects to receive its first nuclear-planning applications next year so construction can begin on new atomic-power facilities no later than 2013.

The German government has decided to extend by an average of 12 years the timescale for closure of nuclear plants.

The Sri Lanka government has approved a pre-feasibility study for developing nuclear energy and the Malaysian government is identifying sites for its first nuclear plant as part of its overall growth plans.

These recent initiatives follow on from debate about whether the US might be on the verge of a second nuclear renaissance, following the boost President Obama gave the industry in his State of the Union speech this year. Currently, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has 22 applications pending from companies that want to build 31 reactors. 

Meanwhile, Nuclear China is embarking upon a six-fold increase in nuclear capacity to 50 GW by 2020, while India's target is to add between 20 and 30 new reactors by 2020.

Alka Banerjee, vice president at S&P Indices, says: "Today nuclear energy is back on the policy agendas of many countries, with projections for new build similar to or exceeding those of the early years of nuclear power. The S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index provides investors with liquid exposure to the nuclear power industry in both developed and emerging markets. In order to create diversified exposure that reflects the marketplace, the Index is equally divided between two clusters - nuclear materials, equipment and services; and nuclear power generation."