Common Index Definitions

Keep in mind that individuals cannot invest directly in any index, and index performance does not include transaction costs or other fees, which will affect actual investment performance. Individual investor's results will vary. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Equities:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted average of 30 actively traded blue-chip U.S. stocks.
The Dow Jones-UBS Precious Metals Total Return Index is a multiple-commodity sub-index consisting of the contracts included in the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return related to precious metals. Contracts for two commodities are currently included in the Dow Jones-UBS Precious Metals Subindex Total Return: gold and silver.
The Dow Jones Wilshire REIT index is intended as a broad measure of the performance of publicly traded real estate equity. The index is market-capitalization weighted of publicly traded real estate securities, such as Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Real Estate Operating Companies (REOCs), and partnerships. The index is composed of companies whose charter is the equity ownership and operation of commercial real estate.
The MSCI ACWI (All Country World Index) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed and emerging markets.
The MSCI EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, Far East) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the US & Canada.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure equity market performance in the global emerging markets.
The MSCI Europe Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure developed market equity performance in Europe.
The MSCI Pacific Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure equity market performance in the Pacific region.
The MSCI World Index captures large-cap and mid-cap representation across 23 developed market countries. With 1,653 constituents, it accounts for about 85% of the free-float-adjusted market capitalization in each country. An investment cannot be made directly in a market index.
The NASDAQ Composite Index is a broad-based capitalization-weighted index of stocks in all three NASDAQ tiers: Global Select, Global Market and Capital Market. An investment cannot be made directly in a market index
The Russell 1000 Index® measures the performance of the 1,000 largest companies in the Russell 3000.
The Russell 1000 Growth Index® measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.
The Russell 1000 Value Index® measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with lower price- to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.
The Russell 2000 Index® measures the performance of the 2,000 smallest companies in the Russell 3000 Index.
The Russell 2000 Growth Index® measures the performance of those Russell 2000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.
The Russell 2000 Value Index® measures the performance of those Russell 2000 companies with lower price- to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values.
The Russell 3000 Index® measures the performance of the 3,000 largest U.S. companies based on total market capitalization.
The Russell 3000 Growth Index® measures the performance of those Russell 3000 Index companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. The stocks in this index are also members of either the Russell 1000 Growth or the Russell 2000 Growth indexes.
The Russell 3000 Value Index® measures the performance of those Russell 3000 Index companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values. The stocks in this index are also members of either the Russell 1000 Value or the Russell 2000 Value indexes.
The Russell 3000E Index® refers to a composite of large, mid, small, and micro-cap companies located in the United States.
The Russell Microcap Index® is a capitalization weighted index of 2,000 small cap and micro cap stocks that captures the smallest 1,000 companies in the Russell 2000, plus 1,000 smaller U.S.-based listed stocks.
The Russell Midcap Index® measures the performance of the 800 smallest companies in the Russell 1000 Index.
The Russell Midcap Growth Index® measures the performance of those Russell Midcap companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. The stocks are also members of the Russell 1000 Growth index.
The Russell Midcap Value Index® measures the performance of those Russell Midcap companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values. The stocks are also members of the Russell 1000 Value index.
The Russell Small Cap Completeness® Index measures the performance of the Russell 3000® Index companies excluding S&P 500 constituents.
The Russell Small Cap Completeness® Growth Index measures the performance of the Russell 3000® Index companies excluding S&P 500 constituents. It includes those Russell Small Cap Completeness Index companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecast growth values.
The Russell Top 50™ Index measures the performance of the 50 largest companies in the Russell 3000 Index, representing approximately 40% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000.
The Russell Top 200® Index measures the performance of the 200 largest companies in the Russell 1000 Index, which represents approximately 65% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 1000 Index.
The Russell Top 200® Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell Top 200 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. The stocks are also members of the Russell 1000 Growth index.
The Russell Top 200® Value Index measures the performance of those Russell Top 200 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values. The stocks are also members of the Russell 1000 Value index.
The S&P 500 Index is widely regarded as the best single gauge of the U.S. equities market. The index includes a representative sample of 500 leading companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy. The S&P 500 Index focuses on the large-cap segment of the market; however, since it includes a significant portion of the total value of the market, it also represents the market.
The S&P 500® Energy Index comprises those companies included in the S&P 500 that are classified as members of the GICS® (Global Industry Classification Standard) energy sector.
The S&P 500® Materials Index comprises those companies included in the S&P 500 that are classified as members of the GICS® materials sector.
The S&P 500® Industrials Index comprises those companies included in the S&P 500 that are classified as members of the GICS® industrials sector.
The S&P 500® Consumer Discretionary Index comprises those companies included in the S&P 500 that are classified as members of the GICS® consumer discretionary sector.
The S&P 500® Consumer Staples Index comprises those companies included in the S&P 500 that are classified as members of the GICS® consumer staples sector.
The S&P 500® Health Care Index comprises those companies included in the S&P 500 that are classified as members of the GICS® health care sector.
The S&P 500® Financials Index comprises those companies included in the S&P 500 that are classified as members of the GICS® financials sector.
The S&P 500® Information Technology Index comprises those companies included in the S&P 500 that are classified as members of the GICS® Information Technology.
The S&P 500® Telecom Services Index comprises those companies included in the S&P 500 that are classified as members of the GICS® Telecome Services.
The S&P 500® Utilities Index comprises those companies included in the S&P 500 that are classified as members of the GICS® utilities sector.
The S&P MidCap 400 Index is an unmanaged total return index of 400 domestic stocks measuring the performance of the midsize company segment of the U.S. stock market
The S&P SmallCap 600 Index is an unmanaged index representing the aggregate market value of the common equity of 600 small-company stocks

Fixed income:

The Bloomberg 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index includes all publicly issued zero-coupon US Treasury Bills that have a remaining maturity of less than 3 months and more than 1 month, are rated investment grade, and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value. In addition, the securities must be denominated in U.S. dollars and must be fixed rate and non convertible.
The Bloomberg Intermediate Government/Credit Bond Index represents primarily investment-grade corporate bonds within the Bloomberg Capital US Investment Grade Index.
The Bloomberg Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond index measures the performance of the U.S. investment grade bond market.
The Bloomberg U.S. credit Bond Index represents primarily investment-grade corporate bonds within the Bloomberg Capital US Investment Grade Index.
The Bloomberg Global High Yield Index is a multi-currency flagship measure of the global high yield debt market. The index represents the union of the US High Yield, the Pan-European High Yield, and Emerging Markets (EM) Hard Currency High Yield Indices. The high yield and emerging markets sub-components are mutually exclusive. Until January 1, 2011, the index also included CMBS high yield securities.
The Bloomberg Intermediate Government/Credit Bond Index represents primarily investment-grade corporate bonds within the Bloomberg Capital US Investment Grade Index.
The Bloomberg Municipal Index consists of a broad selection of investment-grade general obligation and revenue bonds of maturities ranging from one year to 30 years. It is an unmanaged index representative of the tax-exempt bond market.
The Bloomberg Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond index measures the performance of the U.S. investment grade bond market.
The Bloomberg U.S. Credit Bond Index represents primarily investment-grade corporate bonds within the Bloomberg Capital US Investment Grade Index.
The Bloomberg US Dollar Floating Rate Note (FRN) Index provides a measure of the U.S. dollar denominated floating rate note market.
The Bloomberg US Corporate Investment Grade Index is an unmanaged index consisting of publicly issued US Corporate and specified foreign debentures and secured notes that are rated investment grade (Baa3/BBB or higher) by at least two ratings agencies, have at least one year to final maturity and have at least $250 million par amount outstanding. To qualify, bonds must be SEC-registered.
The Bloomberg US High Yield Index covers the universe of fixed rate, non-investment grade debt. Eurobonds and debt issues from countries designated as emerging markets (sovereign rating of Baa1/BBB+/BBB+ and below using the middle of Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch) are excluded, but Canadian and global bonds (SEC registered) of issuers in non-EMG countries are included.
The Bloomberg US Mortgage Backed Securities Index is an unmanaged index that measures the performance of investment grade fixed-rate mortgage backed pass-through securities of GNMA, FNMA and FHLMC.
The Bloomberg US TIPS Index consists of Inflation-Protection securities issued by the U.S. Treasury.
The J.P. Morgan Emerging Market Bond Global Index(EMBI) includes U.S. dollar denominated Brady bonds, Eurobonds, traded loans and local market debt instruments issued by sovereign and quasi-sovereign entities.
The J.P. Morgan Domestic High Yield Index is designed to mirror the investable universe of the U.S. dollar domestic high yield corporate debt market.
The J.P. Morgan Corporate Emerging Markets Bond Index Broad Diversified (CEMBI Broad Diversified) is an expansion of the J.P. Morgan Corporate Emerging Markets Bond Index (CEMBI). The CEMBI is a market capitalization weighted index consisting of U.S. dollar denominated emerging market corporate bonds.
The J.P. Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Index Global Diversified (EMBI Global Diversified) tracks total returns for U.S. dollar-denominated debt instruments issued by emerging market sovereign and quasi-sovereign entities: Brady bonds, loans, Eurobonds. The index limits the exposure of some of the larger countries.
The J.P. Morgan GBI EM Global Diversified tracks the performance of local currency debt issued by emerging market governments, whose debt is accessible by most of the international investor base.
The U.S. Treasury Index is a component of the U.S. Government index.

Other asset classes:

The Alerian MLP Index is a composite of the 50 most prominent energy Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) that provides investors with an unbiased, comprehensive benchmark for the asset class.
The Bloomberg Commodity Index and related sub-indices are composed of futures contracts on physical commodities and represents twenty two separate commodities traded on U.S. exchanges, with the exception of aluminum, nickel, and zinc.
The Cambridge Associates U.S. Global Buyout and Growth Index® is based on data compiled from 1,768 global (U.S. & ex –U.S.) buyout and growth equity funds, including fully liquidated partnerships, formed between 1986 and 2013.
The CS/Tremont Hedge Fund Index is compiled by Credit Suisse Tremont Index, LLC. It is an asset-weighted hedge fund index and includes only funds, as opposed to separate accounts. The Index uses the Credit Suisse/Tremont database, which tracks over 4500 funds, and consists only of funds with a minimum of US$50 million under management, a 12-month track record, and audited financial statements. It is calculated and rebalanced on a monthly basis, and shown net of all performance fees and expenses. It is the exclusive property of Credit Suisse Tremont Index, LLC.
The HFRI Monthly Indices (HFRI) are equally weighted performance indexes, utilized by numerous hedge fund managers as a benchmark for their own hedge funds. The HFRI are broken down into 4 main strategies, each with multiple sub strategies. All single-manager HFRI Index constituents are included in the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite, which accounts for over 2200 funds listed on the internal HFR Database.
The NAREIT EQUITY REIT Index is designed to provide the most comprehensive assessment of overall industry performance, and includes all tax-qualified real estate investment trusts (REITs) that are listed on the NYSE, the American Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ National Market List.
The NFI-ODCE, short for NCREIF Fund Index - Open End Diversified Core Equity, is an index of investment returns reporting on both a historical and current basis the results of 33 open-end commingled funds pursuing a core investment strategy, some of which have performance histories dating back to the 1970s. The NFI-ODCE Index is capitalization-weighted and is reported gross of fees. Measurement is time-weighted.