Understanding the S&P 500 and Its Current Performance

The Essence of the S&P 500

The S&P 500 operates as a barometer of the stock market, reflecting the performance of 500 large-scale, publicly traded American companies. It acts as a benchmark against which the entire market's movements are evaluated, making it an influential indicator of U.S. economic health.

This selection of companies is curated by a specialized committee, based on specific eligibility criteria. Quarterly rebalancing of the index ensures its relevancy and accuracy.

While the S&P 500 incorporates more large-cap stocks than the Dow Jones Industrial Average, it accommodates fewer tech-based stocks compared to the Nasdaq. For investment purposes, individuals have the option to buy shares of the listed stocks or opt for index funds that emulate the S&P 500.

The Origin and History of the S&P 500

The S&P 500, or Standard & Poor's 500, is named after its founding financial entities. The index came into existence on March 4, 1957, under the aegis of Standard & Poor. Subsequently, McGraw-Hill acquired it in 1966, and the ownership transitioned to the S&P Dow Jones Indices in 2022. This joint venture is between S&P Global (previously McGraw Hill Financial), CME Group, and News Corp (the owner of Dow Jones). As of January 7, 2022, the S&P 500 reported an impressive 10-year annual return averaging 13.9%.

The Mechanics of the S&P 500

The S&P 500 gauges the market capitalization of the companies listed in the index. Market capitalization, or market cap, is the aggregate value of a company's issued stock, derived by multiplying the stock's price by the number of shares issued. Therefore, a company with a market cap of $100 billion gets ten times the representation of a company with a market cap of $10 billion. The total market cap of the S&P 500 as of January 2022 was a staggering $34 trillion.

To join the S&P 500's prestigious list, a company must satisfy several conditions related to liquidity, size, industry, and geographical operations. It's required to have a market cap of at least $13.1 billion, at least 50% of the stock should be publicly available, and the company must be listed on approved exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange, Investors Exchange, Nasdaq, or BATS Global Markets.

As of January 7, 2022, the S&P 500's ten largest companies by weighted market cap were:

1. Apple Inc. (AAPL)
2. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
3. Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)
4. Alphabet Inc. A (GOOGL)
5. Tesla, Inc (TSLA)
6. Alphabet Inc. C (GOOG)
7. Meta Platforms, Inc. Class A (FB)
8. Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
9. Berkshire Hathaway B (BRK.B)
10. Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH)

The S&P 500’s sector breakdown as of the same date was as follows:

• Information Technology: 29.2%
• Health Care: 13.3%
• Consumer Discretionary: 12.5%
• Financials: 10.7%
• Communication Services: 10.2%
• Industrials: 7.8%
• Consumer Staples: 5.9%
• Real Estate: 2.8%
• Energy: 2.7%
• Materials: 2.6%
• Utilities: 2.5%

The S&P 500 Compared to Other Stock Market Indices

In terms of large-cap stocks, the S&P 500 overshadows the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which tracks the share prices of 30 significant industry companies. Nevertheless, the Dow is the world's most quoted market indicator, covering almost a quarter of the U.S. stock market.

Compared to the Nasdaq, the S&P 500 hosts fewer tech-centric stocks. As of June 2021, the Nasdaq's tech allocations stood at 55%, while the S&P 500 accounted for 28%. Despite these discrepancies, these indices generally move in synchrony, allowing investors to gain a holistic understanding of the stock market by following just one index.

Making Profits with the S&P 500

Although you can't directly invest in the S&P 500, you can emulate its performance via an index fund, or purchase shares of the companies listed on it.

The S&P 500 also serves as an economic indicator, reflecting the U.S. economy's health. Confidence in the economy often spurs investors to buy stocks.

For a more global perspective, investors can monitor foreign markets, such as emerging economies like China and India. Diversifying your portfolio to include commodities, such as gold, can also provide a safety net during stock price declines.

Keeping an eye on the bond market along with the S&P 500 can also be beneficial. Standard & Poor's issues credit ratings for bonds, and though bond prices often move inversely to stock prices, both can be volatile. Bonds contribute to the liquidity of the U.S. economy and can affect mortgage interest rates.

Investment in the S&P 500

While you can't invest directly in the S&P 500, you can invest in S&P 500 index funds that mimic the index's performance, or buy shares in the individual companies listed on the index.The S&P 500 evaluates the value of the 500 constituent stocks in its index, representing the largest U.S. companies based on market capitalization.

The S&P 500's Performance: A Closer Look

Contrary to general perceptions, the majority of stocks in the S&P 500 have seen a downward trend this year. Interestingly, the index's nearly 10% surge has been primarily driven by just 20 stocks out of the 500. This stark contrast highlights the extreme disparity in market performance, where a small subset of stocks has not only managed to thrive, but their influence has been powerful enough to boost the overall index. Consequently, many investors might overlook the challenging performance of the majority of stocks.

A prime example of this is Microsoft, which has made a significant investment of approximately $10 billion into OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT. This AI has been integrated into Bing's search engine, a move that has proved successful and ignited widespread interest in AI investment.

Nvidia, a leading player in the semiconductor industry, is another stock that has caught investors' attention. Renowned as the most valuable chip manufacturer, Nvidia's stock is certainly one to watch.

On the other hand, Apple, despite its status as the world's most valuable company, seems to be lagging in terms of major developments or achievements in the AI sector. As of now, we can only hope that Apple isn't falling behind in this rapidly advancing tech era, as such a situation would undoubtedly be a disappointment to its shareholders. Nevertheless, Apple's stock has managed to perform admirably, registering a rise of about 40% this year.

To conclude, while the S&P 500 offers a broad representation of the market, the individual performance of stocks within the index can vary significantly. This year has shown that a small group of stocks can drive substantial index growth, even when the majority of stocks face a downturn.