S&P 500 /BARRA Growth and Values Indexes

II. A Thumbnail Sketch of Each of the Indexes in CME's Index Quadrant: Section 3 of 8

At times, it may be more profitable to concentrate a portfolio in either growth or value stocks, today's two most popular investing styles. With that in mind, Standard and Poor's Corporation and BARRA, Inc., jointly released the S&P 500/BARRA Growth and Value Indexes. Each S&P 500 Index company is assigned to either the Growth or the Value Index so that the two indexes "add up" to the S&P 500. The indexes are rebalanced twice a year (January 1 and July 1) based on a variety of factors. They're designed with about 50% of the S&P 500 capitalization in the Value Index and 50% in the Growth Index.

Companies in the Growth Index have higher market capitalizations on average than those in the Value Index, so there are many more companies in the Value Index. You'll find such well-known names as Pfizer, Wal-Mart Stores, Cisco, and Microsoft Corp. in the Growth Index; the Value Index includes names such as Exxon Corp., DuPont, and General Motors.