The Independent Market Observer

Reasons to Look Beyond Cap-Weighted Indices

Posted by Brad McMillan, CFA®, CFP®

Find me on:

This entry was posted on Jul 2, 2014 1:04:00 PM

and tagged Commentary

Leave a comment

beyond cap-weighted indicesWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all stock indices are not created equal.

Although capitalization-weighted indices are the most common, they’re not the only type of index out there. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, products based on nontraditional indices can offer investors broad exposure and low costs, along with the potential to outperform the usual indices.

Cap-weighted indices in brief

In an index weighted by market capitalization, the higher a company’s stock price, the greater its weight in the index. For example, if Apple doubles in price, its weight in the index doubles—and so, of course, does the index’s exposure to Apple's share price. One way to look at it is that a cap-weighted index is momentum oriented, as stocks that increase in price will be increasingly represented.

More than one way to build an index

Apart from market capitalization, the other most common ways to construct an index are equal weighting and weighting by nonprice factors (fundamental weighting).

Equal weighting. In an equally weighted 500 stock index, each stock would have 1/500, or 0.2 percent, of the index. Compare this with the S&P 500, where Apple represents more than 3 percent, Exxon more than 2.5 percent, and Microsoft and other companies well over 1 percent. Unlike in an equally weighted index, these companies are vastly overweighted, and an investment in the index would be much more exposed to them.

One problem with an equal-weighted index is that smaller companies simply may not be investable in the quantities needed, driving trading costs higher. Another is that equal weighting is just as arbitrary as capitalization weighting.

Fundamental weighting. One solution is to use fundamentals, such as sales, book value, or other independent variables, as weighting factors—the idea being that larger companies will have more exposure, but not be subject to stock market momentum.

If an index is weighted on sales, for example, companies with more sales would be weighted more heavily, but that weight wouldn’t change unless the sales as compared with the rest of the index changed. In other words, you’d actually have to grow sales faster than the rest of the companies, not just get a bid on your stock.

Are fundamental indices the answer?

In theory, by reducing the weight of the highest-priced stocks, fundamental indices should limit the damage caused when those stocks correct. They should also tend to buy more stocks at low prices, and fewer at high prices. That sounds good, and it has generally held true in practice: fundamental indices have tended to post better results than market-cap indices over most, but not all, time periods.

Market theorists have shown that much of the outperformance from these indices comes from a “value effect”—which makes sense, since higher-priced stocks are systematically underweighted in comparison with a cap-weighted index. The problem for investors is that attempting to invest in a value-oriented cap-weighted index would expose them to exactly the same issue, just with a different set of stocks. Trying to use a value tilt with cap weighting simply won’t yield the same results.

The takeaway for index investors

There are multiple ways to get the advantages of an index, including some that may provide more upside than the most popular products. Nothing is guaranteed, of course, which is why it may make sense to diversify your index exposure, just as you diversify the other areas of your portfolio.


Subscribe via Email

New call-to-action
Crash-Test Investing

Hot Topics



New Call-to-action

Conversations

Archives

see all

Subscribe


Disclosure

The information on this website is intended for informational/educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or investment product. Please contact your financial professional for more information specific to your situation.

Certain sections of this commentary contain forward-looking statements that are based on our reasonable expectations, estimates, projections, and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Diversification does not assure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets.

The S&P 500 Index is a broad-based measurement of changes in stock market conditions based on the average performance of 500 widely held common stocks. All indices are unmanaged and investors cannot invest directly in an index.

The MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australia, Far East) Index is a free float‐adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the U.S. and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index consists of 21 developed market country indices.

One basis point (bp) is equal to 1/100th of 1 percent, or 0.01 percent.

The VIX (CBOE Volatility Index) measures the market’s expectation of 30-day volatility across a wide range of S&P 500 options.

The forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio divides the current share price of the index by its estimated future earnings.

Third-party links are provided to you as a courtesy. We make no representation as to the completeness or accuracy of information provided on these websites. Information on such sites, including third-party links contained within, should not be construed as an endorsement or adoption by Commonwealth of any kind. You should consult with a financial advisor regarding your specific situation.

Member FINRASIPC

Please review our Terms of Use

Commonwealth Financial Network®