It is a stock market index that tracks the market capitalization of 500 leading public U.S. companies. The S&P 500 weighs its 500 components based on the market capitalization of each. The S&P 500 is maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices, which is a division of S&P Global.
The 500 companies in the S&P 500 are chosen by a committee, called the U.S. Index Committee; the Committee is made up of full-time employees of S&P Dow Jones Indices. When considering the eligibility of a new addition to the S&P 500, the Committee assesses a company's merit using eight primary criteria: market capitalization, liquidity, domicile, public float, Global Industry Classification Standard and representation of the industries in the economy of the United States, financial viability, length of time publicly traded, and stock exchange.
An excellent, short, and authoritative summary about the S&P 500 is contained in this brochure published by the S&P Dow Jones Indices itself.
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