

The S&P 500 tracks large-cap companies across the major industry sectors, from information technology to real estate. Which companies are included in the S&P 500?Ī little background on the S&P 500: It was created in 1957 by financial companies Standard and Poor’s, and the index is now owned by the S&P Dow Jones Indices, a joint venture between S&P Financial (formerly known as McGraw Hill Financial), global markets company CME Group and media company News Corp., which owns Dow Jones. Here we explain the S&P 500, which companies are included in it (and why), and how investing in it can be a solid financial strategy. You can, however, invest in an S&P 500 index fund that mirrors the S&P 500. Over its history though, while some years have been better than others, the S&P 500 index's average annual return has been almost 10%.īut-and this is an important but-you can’t actually invest in the S&P 500.

It fell into bear market territory in March 2020, dropping more than 20 percent from its all-time high in February. But the index hasn't gone up like that every year. The S&P 500 index finished 2021 up almost 27 percent. (Large-cap companies typically range from $10 billion to $200 billion and include the kind of industry titans you would expect to see on a major stock-market index.) companies ranging from Microsoft to Apple. The index measures the stocks of 500 of the largest publicly traded U.S. In a nutshell, the S&P 500 is considered to be a good benchmark for the general health of the U.S. Even if you’re new to investing, you’ve likely heard of the S&P 500 index.
