You're here:  Home --> Dictionary --> S --> S&P 500

S&P
Dow Jones
Stock Index
NASDAQ

S&P 500
Term category: Stocks
In 10 words or less:  A stock index of 500 of the largest companies in America.

Definition: An index of five hundred major stocks. This is considered a benchmark for mutual funds because fund managers want to outperform this index.

StockJargon Advice: This is essentially the benchmark for investors and mutual funds to beat. When someone says they "beat the market," they're usually referring to earning a higher return than the S&P 500.

The S&P 500 is not an equal-weighted index like the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Instead, it's market cap weighted. This means that the bigger companies make up more of the index.

Related Articles

Stock Indexes
Find out what people mean when they say "the market is up today"…

An Introduction to Investing
This article will help you get acquainted with the basics…

Buy and Hold Investing
This article will explain what "buy and hold" investing is and what makes it so great

Related Books

The Five Rules for Successful Stock Investing by Pat Dorsey
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator By Edwin Lefevre
Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist by Roger Lowenstein
Beating the S&P with Dividends by Peter O'Shea

# -A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z