What Is the S&P 500? - NerdWallet (2024)

FAQs

What is the S&P 500 for dummies? ›

The S&P 500 is a stock market index that measures the performance of about 500 companies in the U.S. It includes companies across 11 sectors to offer a picture of the health of the U.S. stock market and the broader economy.

Choosing your investments

Investing in an S&P 500 fund can instantly diversify your portfolio and is generally considered less risky. S&P 500 index funds or ETFs will track the performance of the S&P 500, which means when the S&P 500 does well, your investment will, too. (The opposite is also true, of course.)

The Standard & Poor's 500, often abbreviated as the S&P 500 is an American stock market index based on the market capitalizations of 500 large companies having common stock listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ.

Assuming an average annual return rate of about 10% (a typical historical average), a $10,000 investment in the S&P 500 could potentially grow to approximately $25,937 over 10 years.

For new investors, the best way is through an ETF or mutual fund. While there are some differences between the two that we'll explain below, funds are a low-cost way to gain exposure to the S&P 500 and provide instant diversification to your portfolio.

One way to become a millionaire

Over its history, the S&P 500 has generated an average annual return of 9%, including re-invested dividends. At that rate, even a middle-class income is enough to become a millionaire over time. $500 a month, for example, is less than 10% of the median U.S. household's monthly income.

Over the past decade, you would have done even better, as the S&P 500 posted an average annual return of a whopping 12.68%. Here's how much your account balance would be now if you were invested over the past 10 years: $1,000 would grow to $3,300. $5,000 would grow to $16,498.

“In my view, for most people, the best thing to do is own the S&P 500 index fund,” Buffett said at Berkshire's 2020 annual meeting. Buffett's thinking here is straightforward. Most non-professional investors (and even many professional stock-pickers) have very little chance of outperforming the market.

That's because your investment gives you access to the broad stock market. Meanwhile, if you only invest in S&P 500 ETFs, you won't beat the broad market. Rather, you can expect your portfolio's performance to be in line with that of the broad market.

So why does the S&P 500 index, and lots of index funds that track it, tend to outperform funds where well-paid professionals are trying hard to beat it? A commonly cited reason is simply: fees. Fees can make a huge difference in your long-term returns.

What is S&P 500 and how do you invest? ›

The S&P 500 is a stock market index that tracks the performance of 500 of the largest U.S. public companies by market capitalization—or the total value of all their outstanding shares. With a market cap of roughly $39 trillion, this index represents nearly 85% of the total capitalization of the U.S. stock market.

The S&P is a float-weighted index, meaning the market capitalizations of the companies in the index are adjusted by the number of shares available for public trading. Because of its depth and diversity, the S&P 500 is widely considered one of the best gauges of large U.S. stocks, and even the entire equities market.

Let's say you start off with $1 but contribute just $1,000 a year. In that case, you'd only need to find stocks that return 19.2% annually to be a millionaire in 30 years. That's still double the S&P 500's typical return. But much more doable than a 58.5% annual return if you don't keep investing.

Think About This: $10,000 invested in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 2000 would have grown to $32,527 over 20 years — an average return of 6.07% per year.

And for a 20-year investment, returns have been 100% positive. But given the possibility for short-term stock market volatility, you should only invest in an S&P 500 index fund if you don't expect that you'll need your money for around five years.

The S&P 500 is a stock index that tracks the share prices of 500 of the largest public companies in the United States. Formally known as the Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Stock Price Index and commonly referred to as the S&P 500, it's one of the main tools used to follow the performance of U.S. stocks.

A key difference between The Dow and the S&P 500 is the method used to weight the constituent stocks of each index. The Dow is price-weighted. This means that price changes in the highest-priced stocks have greater impact on the index level than price changes in the lower-priced stocks.

The Nasdaq indexes, associated with the Nasdaq exchange, focus more heavily on tech and other stocks. The S&P 500, with 500 large U.S. companies, offers a more comprehensive market view, weighted by market capitalization. Other indexes, like the Wilshire 5000 and Russell 2000, cover broader market segments.