More Investment Index

The Wilshire 5000

Want a good look at how the overall U.S. stock market is
doing? The Wilshire 5000 tracks a huge universe of stocks
— in fact, it lists almost every publicly listed stock, including
those listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the
American Stock Exchange, and the Nasdaq Composite.
That’s a pretty definitive look at the large-, medium-, and
small-company stock markets.


This is not a must-read index, especially on a daily basis, but
it is an index investors want to at least know about and have
the option of viewing once in a while. It’s the largest index
going. It gives an investor a broad sense of how the U.S. stock
market overall is faring and in which direction stocks are
headed. More mutual funds have also started investing in
stocks listed in the Wilshire 5000, which gives investors total
U.S. stock exposure.

S&P Mid Cap 400

The S&P Mid Cap 400 index measures the performance of
400 medium-sized companies. If you’re interested in investing
in mid-size companies, or mutual funds that do — and
there are a number of success stories in the mid-sized
range — this is a good benchmark to use to gauge your own
success.

The Russell 2000

The Russell 2000 is the most widely used benchmark for the
smaller company market. (Other small company performance
indexes include the S&P Small Cap 600, the Wilshire
Small Company Growth Index, and the Wilshire Small Company
Value Index.)

The Morgan Stanley Capital International

Emerging Markets Index

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Emerging Markets
Index looks at smaller companies that are operating in
up-and-coming and also sometimes highly volatile developing
markets around the world.


The Morgan Stanley Capital International

Europe, Australia, Asia, and Far East
(EAFE) Index

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe, Australia,
Asia, and Far East (EAFE) Index, considered one of the more
prominent, tracks more than 1,000 foreign stocks in 20
countries. This is the big daddy for international investors
and money managers. It tells you how the international stock
market is faring, and if you own stock or a mutual fund that
invests globally, how you’re doing in comparison.
Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index
As the name suggests, the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond
Index represents an aggregate of the performance of a
number
of bonds, including U.S. Treasury bonds and corporate
bonds. For investors in U.S. bonds or bond funds, this is the
benchmark for relative performance and the direction of the
market.

Lehman Brothers Long-Term High-Quality

Government/Corporate Bond Index

As its name suggests, the Lehman Brothers Long-Term High-
Quality Government/Corporate Bond Index looks at the universe
of higher-rated government and corporate bonds. To
make it onto the index, a bond must have a maturity or duration
of 15 years or more and a rating of A or better from
Moody’s.

If you’re interested in making long-term investments in highquality
bonds, this benchmark gives you an idea of the type
of performance you can expect and the way the market is faring
right now.