One of the most popular stock indexes that doesn’t track large companies is the Russell 2000, widely considered the benchmark for smaller U.S. stocks. Every year, FTSE Russell Group rebalances the Russell indexes. Stock markets are dynamic, and companies rise and fall in market cap over time, and new companies launch that deserve placement on the indexes.
Available only with a Barchart Plus or Premier Membership, you can base a Stock Screener off the symbols currently on the page. This lets you add additional filters to further narrow down the list of candidates. As a real-world example, in the 2021 reconstitution, GameStop (GME 6.83%) was added to the Russell 1000 and removed from the Russell 2000 after its price soared in the meme stock craze. In all, 56 companies were added to the Russell 1000 in 2021, with 30 of them moving up from the Russell 2000.
Scroll through widgets of the different content available for the symbol. The “More Data” widgets are also available from the Links column of the right side of the data table. In theory, the direction of the moving average (higher, lower or flat) indicates the trend of the market. Many trading systems utilize moving averages as independent variables and market analysts frequently use moving averages to confirm technical breakouts. If you want to invest in the Russell 2000 Index, you attention required! cloudflare don’t need to buy all 2,000 stocks.
The Russell 2000 weighs U.S. small capitalization stocks using a float-adjusted market capitalization approach. The Russell 2000 Index is a measure of the performance of 2,000 publicly traded small-cap U.S. companies. As of March 31, 2024, the average value for a company on the Russell 2000 was $4.82 billion, while the median market cap was $960 million. The largest stock by market cap on the index was $58.43 billion. Unique to Barchart.com, data tables contain an option that allows you to see more data for the symbol without leaving the page. Click the “+” icon in the first column (on the left) to view more data for the selected symbol.
In turn, it will likely be placed in the Russell 1000 index, which is designed to be a barometer of how large-cap stocks are doing. For comparison, the S&P SmallCap 600 covers approximately 2.5% of the U.S. stocks by market cap whereas the Russell 2000 covers about 10%. This is to be expected since the average includes data from the previous, lower priced days. As long as prices remain above the average there is strength in the market. One of the oldest stock indexes, the Dow Jones tracks 30 of the largest U.S. companies.
Russell 2000 vs Other Indexes
Managed by the U.K.-based FTSE Russell Group, the Russell 2,000 is a subset of the Russell 3000 index. The Russell 2000 is an index of 2,000 small-cap companies that was first launched in 1984. The index comprises currency and exchange rate real 2020 2,000 of the smallest companies in the Russell 3000, which itself covers roughly 98% of the stocks publicly traded in the U.S.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) indices, on the other hand, track large-cap stocks. The Russell 2000 Index is a stock market index that measures the performance of the 2,000 smaller companies included in the Russell 3000 Index. The Russell 2000 is managed by London’s FTSE Russell Group, widely regarded as a bellwether of the U.S. economy because of its focus on smaller companies in the U.S. market. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 get most of the headline attention, it’s important for investors to understand that there are many different stock indexes.
What are stock market indexes?
For example, the Russell 2000 growth index is designed to gauge how small-cap growth stocks are performing. About 1,300 stocks out of the broader Russell 2000 qualify for the growth subindex, with the technology and healthcare sectors making up the largest contributions. Founded in 1993, The Motley Fool is a financial services company dedicated to making the world smarter, happier, and richer. The Motley Fool reaches millions of people every month through our premium investing solutions, free guidance and market analysis on Fool.com, top-rated podcasts, and non-profit The Motley Fool Foundation. For the major indices on the site, this widget shows the percentage of stocks contained in the index that are above their 20-Day, 50-Day, 100-Day, 150-Day, and 200-Day Moving Averages.
The Russell 2000 index can be a savvy addition to an investment portfolio, but it’s not necessarily the right choice for everyone. A number of brokerage companies offer Russell 2000 ETFs and index funds. You cannot, however, purchase Russell 2000 funds directly from FTSE Russell Group. The smallest 1,000 companies in the Russell 2000 make up the Russell 1000 Microcap Index. The Russell 2000 is itself composed of the two-thousand smallest companies in the broader Russell 3000 Index. Pages are initially sorted in a specific order (depending on the data presented).
Many investors compare small-cap mutual funds’ movements against the index’s movement. Whether you welcome the higher-risk/higher-reward opportunity or not, most investors will not want to make Russell 2000 funds a major portion of their portfolio. Even with the broad exposure of 2,000 companies, the risk inherent to this market segment means it is not necessarily an index to stake the majority of your portfolio on. That said, small caps frequently experience more severe price swings than larger companies, meaning white-knuckle investors may find that Russell 2000 funds triggers panic that large-cap indexes do not.
This means that a member stock’s last sale price, the number of shares that can be traded, and whether it is on other indexes influence its listing on the index. Investing in the Russell 2000 is a great way to get exposure to the exciting world of small-cap investing without relying too heavily on the performance of any single company. The vast diversification of the index should help to smooth out the volatile nature of investing in smaller stocks while maintaining the potential for market-beating performance. The Russell 2000 index tracks the 2,000 smallest public companies by market cap in its parent Russell 3000 stock index. The remaining 1,000 companies are grouped in the Russell 1000 large-cap stock index. The other big difference between the Russell 2000 and other major indices is that it tracks small-cap stocks.
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In between the annual rank day reconstitution, eligible companies that go public, like through an initial public offering (IPO), and qualify by market cap can be added to the Russell 2000 on a quarterly basis. Because of this, the Russell 2000 may sometimes track more than 2,000 stocks. The Russell 2000 is a stock market index that tracks the performance of 2,000 small-cap U.S. public companies.
For dynamically-generated tables (such as a Stock or ETF Screener) where you see more than 1000 rows of data, the download will be limited to only the first 1000 records on the table. For other static pages (such as the Russell 3000 Components list) all rows will be downloaded. Also unique to Barchart, this feature allows you to scroll through all the symbols on the table in a chart view.
- For comparison, the S&P SmallCap 600 covers approximately 2.5% of the U.S. stocks by market cap whereas the Russell 2000 covers about 10%.
- As a real-world example, in the 2021 reconstitution, GameStop (GME 6.83%) was added to the Russell 1000 and removed from the Russell 2000 after its price soared in the meme stock craze.
- The smaller ones have market caps in the $200 million range.
- One good example is the Vanguard Russell 2000 ETF (VTWO -1.9%), which invests in all the stocks in the index according to their relative weights.
- Every year, FTSE Russell Group rebalances the Russell indexes.
- The Russell 2000 is designed to provide the best indicator of how small-cap U.S. stocks are doing.
How to invest in the Russell 2000 index fund
You can re-sort the page by clicking on any of the column headings in the table. The Russell 2000 is designed to provide the best indicator of how small-cap U.S. stocks are doing. With that in mind, here’s a rundown of what investors should know about the Russell 2000 Index, how it works, and whether it could be a smart investment choice. As of FTSE Russel’s index factsheet dated March 31, 2024, the index’s top three holdings were Super Micro Computer (SMCI), Microstrategy (MSTR), and Comfort Systems USA (FIX). It is highest weighted in industrials, followed by healthcare, then financials. The table below highlights a breakdown of the index by industry.
How Do You Invest in the Russell 2000?
The index is the most widely quoted measure of the overall performance of small-cap to mid-cap stocks. It represents approximately 7% of the total Russell 3000 market capitalization and is made up of the bottom two-thirds in terms of company size of the Russell 3000 index. The larger index reflects the movements of nearly 96% of all publicly traded U.S. stocks. It’s no surprise that many funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) mirror or are based on the Russell 2000. Because small-cap companies make up a much smaller share of the U.S. stock market than large caps, the companies in the Russell 2000 represent approximately 10% of the U.S. stock market’s total market capitalization. In comparison, i tested bollinger bands trading strategy 100 times the Russell 1000’s large-cap stocks represent approximately 92% of the total U.S. stock market.
