You’ve got to admire the staying power of the Dow Jones Industrials Average. It was replaced as the best measure of U.S. stock market performance in 1923, when Standard Statistics Co. unveiled its new stock index, which later became the S&P 500 (the Dow was and is simply the crude average of the prices of 30 subjectively chosen stocks). Within the investing business, both the Dow and the S&P have long since been supplanted by the more focused indexes compiled by the likes of Russell Investments and MSCI.
The (Not Very Deep) Meanings of the Dow’s New Record
Let’s not get all excited.
March 06, 2013
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New!
HBR Learning
Finance Essentials Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Finance Essentials. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Strengthen your fluency in financial statements.