2019 was a remarkable year for risky assets. All benchmarks tracked in the SPIVA U.S. Year-End 2019 Scorecard delivered positive returns. Information Technology-heavy and more internationally diversified companies of the S&P 500® pushed the index to its second- and fourth-highest annual return since 2001 and 1990, respectively. In addition, the S&P MidCap 400® (26.2%) and Read more […]
The SPIVA® Latin America Year-End 2019 Scorecard was released last week, showing divergent results for Latin American equities markets. The report covers Brazil, Chile, and Mexico in selected fund categories. In the framework of stable inflation, a decline in unemployment, and lower interest rates, 2019 was a great year for Brazilian equities markets, as measured Read more […]
The fall in equity market values since February’s peak has been sudden and dramatic. During this period, the equity markets have functioned well at their primary task of facilitating price discovery at a time when values were changing rapidly. Equity investors who wanted to trade have been able to trade. (Whether they were wise to Read more […]
On March 3 and 5, 2020, S&P Dow Jones Indices hosted its 10th Annual Australian Indexing & ETF Masterclass series in Melbourne and Sydney. The events saw over 200 financial advisers come together in a week that, until the week after, had been the most volatile for financial markets since the stock market rout of Read more […]
While the iconic S&P 500® is one of the world’s best known benchmarks, the S&P Composite 1500 (comprising the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400®, and S&P SmallCap 600®) covers a broader spectrum of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market. Though the S&P 500 is often used as a measuring stick for large-cap fund performance Read more […]
The debate between active management and passive management has being ongoing for several years. Active managers make investment decisions in an effort to outperform their benchmark, while passive managers simply track an index to gain exposure to a market or segment of a market. Active managers claim to have enough skills to consistently outperform the Read more […]
The S&P Composite 1500 measures the U.S. equity market by combining three world-renowned benchmarks – the S&P 500®, S&P MidCap 400®, and S&P SmallCap 600® – which together encompass approximately 90% of U.S. equity market capitalization. With 2019 in the rear-view mirror, it is obvious that last year was extremely positive for U.S. equities: the Read more […]
A wise man told me years ago that sometimes the things we see are less important than our way of seeing. As more formerly-active investors begin to use passive vehicles, it’s useful to consider if there’s a distinctly index-centric way of seeing, and what its elements might be. I think that there are at least Read more […]
Yesterday marked 25 years since the launch of the S&P SmallCap 600. Since then, the small-cap equity benchmark delivered an annualized total return of nearly 11% and has become the basis for many investment strategies; around USD 73 billion was indexed to the S&P SmallCap 600 as of the end of 2018. And if we Read more […]
“You all did see that on the Lupercal I thrice presented him a kingly crown, Which he did thrice refuse.” Julius Caesar, Act 3 This morning’s Wall Street Journal declared that “Index Funds Are the New Kings of Wall Street.” The coronation, and similar notes of the “end of an era,” were prompted by Morningstar Read more […]
