Broad Market Indexes

Dow Jones Wilshire 5000
This index is a broad measure and a leading proxy of the total U.S. equity market. It’s comprised of approximately 5,000 publicly traded stocks of all market capitalization sizes, with the exception of bulletin-board issues. Two versions of the index are maintained. One is weighted by full market cap size whereas the other is weighted according to a float-adjusted market cap. Companies in this index trade on the American Stock Exchange (Amex), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and NASDAQ market.

FTSE RAFI US 1000
This broad market index selects stocks based upon fundamental measures. The four criteria used are book value, sales, income, and dividends. 1,000 stocks are assigned with the highest fundamental strength then ranked and weighted according to their score. Components are rebalanced and reconstituted annually.

Large-Cap Indexes

Dow Jones Industrial Average
First published in July 1884, the Dow or DJIA has become a longstanding gauge of U.S. stock market performance. Unlike market cap weighted indexes, the Dow is price weighted. This means components with the highest stock price will have the greatest influence on index performance. The Dow represents shares of 30 key publicly traded U.S. based industrial companies. The index is maintained and reviewed by editors of the Wall Street Journal.

Russell 1000 Growth
This domestic index measures the performance of U.S. based large-cap growth companies. It screens for companies with higher forecasted growth and price-to-book ratios within the Russell 1000. The index is market cap weighted, float adjusted and it’s reconstituted annually.

S&P 500
Widely regarded as the best gauge of the U.S. equities market, this popular index includes a representative sample of 500 leading companies in segmented industries of the U.S. economy. Although the S&P 500 is weighted towards large-caps, it’s also a useful barometer for the total market.

Mid-Cap Indexes

Morningstar Mid-Value
This is one of nine “style box” indexes offered by Morningstar. It selects stocks in the mid-cap universe that exhibit “value” characteristics and meet certain liquidity requirements. Companies in this index trade on the Amex, NYSE, and NASDAQ.

MSCI U.S. Mid-Cap 450
This domestic index measures the performance of 450 U.S. based mid-sized companies. Mid-caps are generally defined as companies with a market capitalization size between $2 to $10 billion. This index is rebalanced quarterly.

Small-Cap Indexes

Russell 2000
This domestic small-cap index measures the performance of the 2,000 smallest companies in the broader Russell 3000. The index is market cap weighted, float adjusted and it’s reconstituted annually.

S&P Small-Cap 600
U.S. small companies, which represent 3% of the U.S. equity market, are the focus of the S&P 600. Small-caps are generally defined as companies with a market capitalization size under $2 billion. Stocks are screened by an S&P committee for liquidity and industry group representation. This is a market cap weighted index and the reconstitution of components is ongoing.

Fixed Income Indexes

Lehman Brothers U.S. Aggregate Bond
This index measures performance of the U.S. investment grade bonds market. Underlying components include only investment grade quality U.S. government bonds, corporate bonds, mortgage backed and asset backed securities. The index components must be fixed rate, nonconvertible, taxable, and denominated in U.S. dollars.

Goldman Sachs $ InvesTop Corporate Bond
The Goldman Sachs $ InvesTop is a basket of 100 bonds rebalanced monthly and designed to provide balanced representation of the U.S. dollar investment grade corporate market. All 100 bonds in the basket are equally par-weighted.

Global & International Indexes

MSCI EAFE
Morgan Stanley Capital International developed the EAFE index as a performance benchmark for international stocks. The market cap weighted index is composed of publicly traded stocks in 21 developed countries in the European, Australian, and Far East markets. Among countries that represent the top 10 positions are Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The index is rebalanced quarterly.

FTSE/Xinhua China 25
Like other country indexes, this index has a singular focus on just one nation; China. Its principal purpose is to provide market exposure to China’s largest and most liquid publicly traded companies. Index components are weighted according to their market value. Each holding is also a member of the FTSE All-World Index.

Emerging Market Indexes

MSCI Emerging Markets
Morgan Stanley Capital International developed this index to track the equity performance of emerging markets. The market cap weighted index is composed of publicly traded stocks in 21 emerging countries. Among countries that represent the top 10 positions are Brazil, India, and South Africa. The index is rebalanced quarterly.

Industry & Sector Indexes

Utilities Select Sector SPDR
Utility stocks that are members of the S&P 500 are the key components of this index. These companies distribute, produce or transmit electricity and natural gas

MSCI Information Technol
This equal weighted index selects publicly traded companies that develop and use renewable energy sources, environmentally friendly power, and technologies that facilitate clean energy production. Components are rebalanced and reconstituted quarterly.

Specialty Indexes

S&P 500 Equal Weight
The S&P Equal Weight Index (S&P EWI) is comprised of the same stocks that make up the S&P 500, but gives equal representation to each component. This eliminates a bias to companies with the largest market capitalization. The index is rebalanced quarterly.

Mergent High Growth Rate Dividend Achievers
This index is a subset of the Broad Dividend Achievers Index and is constructed to track the performance of the top 100 dividend paying companies according to their 10-year compounded annualized dividend growth rate. For consideration, companies must be incorporated in the U.S. or its territories, and trade on the Amex, NYSE, or NASDAQ markets. Mergent also applies additional filters to verify the liquidity and investibility of stocks in this index.

Commodity Indexes

Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity
This index tracks a basket of commodities. The amount invested in each of these commodities is weighted and reset annually in the following manner: 35% light, sweet crude oil, 20% heating oil, 12.5% aluminum, 11.25% corn, 11.25% wheat and 10% gold.