In 1994, Standard & Poor's (S&P) created a new benchmark by combining
the MidCap 400 Index, its SmallCap 600 Index, and the popular large-cap S&P
500 Index. Called the S&P Composite 1500 Index (or S&P 1500
Index), it first comprised 115 industries. Several years later, the index had
increased to 123 industries. In April 2006, S&P increased the number of
industries in the S&P 1500 to 147 to reflect today’s business environment
and economic areas.
We believe the S&P 1500 Index provides an appropriate benchmark for ICON’s
Multi Cap investment options and is gaining ground as an effective measure of
the U.S. equities market. The S&P 1500 Index complements ICON's industry
rotation system and offers a broad market index comprising 1,500 U.S. stocks
representative of all market capitalizations.
Composition of the S&P 1500 Index
The S&P 1500 Index is made up of small-cap, mid-cap, and large-cap stock
indexes and covers approximately 85% of theU.S. equity market.
The S&P 1500 Composite Index covers approximately 85% of the U.S. equity
market. Percentages are based on data provided by Standard & Poor’s as of
12/31/07.Index Correlation Comparison
Below is a table that demonstrates the correlation of the S&P 1500 Index to
other market indexes for the 10-year period ended 12/31/07. As you can see, it
is almost perfectly correlated to other broad-market equity indexes.
Index Description
|
S&P
Composite
1500 Index
|
S&P
500 Index
|
Russell
3000 Index
|
Dow Jones
Wilshire 5000
Index (FC)
|
S&P Composite 1500 Index
|
1.00
|
|
|
|
| S&P 500 Index
|
1.00
|
1.00
|
|
|
| Russell 3000 Index
|
1.00
|
0.99
|
1.00
|
|
| Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Index (FC)
|
0.99
|
0.98
|
1.00
|
1.00
|
Based on historic monthly total return data for each respective index.
Data Source: FactSet Research Systems, Inc.
(FC) Full Market Capitalization, not float-adjusted
S&P 1500 Index Covers the Equity Market
Since it measures the performance of widely available, liquid stocks, we
maintain that the S&P 1500 Index provides the appropriate broad market
benchmark for investors seeking to replicate the performance of the U.S. equity
market.
| |
Large-Cap
Representation
|
Mid-Cap
Representation
|
Small-Cap
Representation
|
Percentage of U.S.
Equity Market
|
Utilizes Global
Industry
Classification
Standards (GICS)
|
| S&P 1500 Composite
Index |
ü
|
ü
|
ü
|
85%
|
ü
|
| S&P 500 Index |
ü
|
|
|
75%
|
ü
|
| S&P MidCap 400 Index |
|
ü
|
|
7%
|
ü
|
| S&P SmallCap 600 Index |
|
|
ü
|
3%
|
ü
|
| Russell 3000 Index |
ü
|
ü
|
ü
|
98%
|
|
| Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite
Index (full-cap) |
ü
|
ü
|
ü
|
100%
|
|
Sources: Standard & Poor’s, Russell, Dow Jones, as of 12/31/07.
The unmanaged Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Composite 1500 Index is a
broad-based, capitalization-weighted index comprising 500 large-cap, 400
mid-cap, and 600 small-cap U.S. companies. The unmanaged S&P 500 Index is a
market value-weighted index of large-cap common stocks considered
representative of the broad market. The unmanaged S&P MidCap 400 Index is a
widely recognized unmanaged mid-cap index of 400 domestic stocks chosen for
their market capitalization, liquidity, and industry group representations. The
unmanaged S&P SmallCap 600 Index is an unmanaged index of 600 domestic
stocks chosen for their market capitalization, liquidity, financial viability,
and sector representation. The unmanaged Russell 3000 Index measures the
performance of the largest 3,000 publicly traded U.S. companies. The Dow Jones
Wilshire 5000 Composite Index measures the performance of all
U.S.-headquartered equity securities with readily available price data.
Individuals cannot invest directly in an index. |
 |
|
 Standard
& Poor's Market Capitalization Breakdown (12/31/07) |
|
|
|
| Large-Cap |
|
|
> $5.5 Billion |
| Mid-Cap |
|
| $1.5 Billion - $5.5 Billion |
| Small-Cap |
|
$300 Million - $1.5 Billion
Source: Standard & Poor’s, as of 12/31/07. |
|
|
