--- title: Are Index Trends Signaling a Change in the Market? - Burney Investment Management description: Most widely-used stock indices you see, including the S&P 500, are weighted by market capitalization rather than weighted equally, giving the larger stocks in the index more sway over the index’s movement.  The 10 largest stocks by capitalization in the S&P 500, for instance, have the same weighting as 89 equally weighted stocks. Because market-cap ... --- [Skip to content](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/equal-vs-market-cap-weighted-indexes#main-content) [![Burney Investment Management](https://burneyinvest.com/hs-fs/hubfs/theme/Burney_Invest_Color_Horizontal_%232b.png?width=300&height=110&name=Burney_Invest_Color_Horizontal_%232b.png "Burney Investment Management")](https://burneyinvest.com/) - About - [Company Overview](https://burneyinvest.com/about) - [Burney Difference](https://burneyinvest.com/the-burney-difference) - Strategies - [Size & Style Responsive](https://burneyinvest.com/strategies/size-style-responsive-ssr/) - [The Burney Master Portfolio](https://burneyinvest.com/strategies/the-burney-master-portfolio/) - [Personalized Portfolios](https://burneyinvest.com/strategies/personalized-portfolios/) - [Stock Selection](https://burneyinvest.com/strategies/stock-selection/) - [Team](https://burneyinvest.com/team) - [Resources](https://burneyinvest.com/blog) - [Get In Touch](https://burneyinvest.com/contact) 7.11.2016 # Are Index Trends Signaling a Change in the Market? [Andy Pratt, CFA](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/author/andy-pratt-cfa) ![](https://20453469.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/20453469/Theme/dots_y4.svg) ##### Popular Posts [How to Read VIX and VIX Term Structure](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/how-to-read-vix-and-vix-term-spread) [What Happened in the Stock Market Yesterday?](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/what-happened-in-the-stock-market-yesterday) [Performance Matters - 7 Steps Toward More Effective Investing](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/performance-matters-7-steps-toward-more-effective-investing) Most widely-used stock indices you see, including the S&P 500, are weighted by market capitalization rather than weighted equally, giving the larger stocks in the index more sway over the index’s movement.  The 10 largest stocks by capitalization in the S&P 500, for instance, have the same weighting as 89 equally weighted stocks. Because market-cap weighted indexes are heavily biased by the largest constituents, these indexes typically publish a less followed but insightful Equal Weight Index (EWI) that weighs each stock equally across the index.  Apple makes up 2.9% of the S&P 500 Index but just 0.2% in the S&P 500 EWI. By removing the extra influence large-caps have in the standard index, we are able to pick up on trends by comparing the performance of both the market-cap and the EWI version to see how smaller-cap constituents are performing relative to their larger peers. ![Equal_Weight_vs_Market_Cap_Indexes_6-30-16_no_transparency](https://burneyinvest.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Equal_Weight_vs_Market_Cap_Indexes_6-30-16_no_transparency.png?width=444&height=181&name=Equal_Weight_vs_Market_Cap_Indexes_6-30-16_no_transparency.png) The recent returns of the S&P 500 indices show signs of size movement.  The large-cap S&P 500 is no longer outperforming the small-cap S&P 600 as it did in the prior 1-year period.  Mid-caps, as seen by the S&P 400, are now returning more than both small and large caps. And, interestingly, within each index, the EWI version outperformed the cap-weighted index indicating, at least in 2016, small-caps have taken the momentum from large-cap stocks. --- *The Burney Company is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Burney Wealth Management is a division of the Burney Company. Registration with the SEC or any state securities authority does not imply that Burney Company or any of its principals or employees possesses a particular level of skill or training in the investment advisory business or any other business. Burney Company does not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice, but offers it through third parties. Before making any financial decisions, clients should consult their legal and/or tax advisors.* ## Articles you may enjoy 09.07.16 #### [REITS are Now the 11th Sector in the S&P 500](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/reits-are-now-the-11th-sector-in-the-s-p-500) [![](https://20453469.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/20453469/Theme/circle_right.svg)](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/reits-are-now-the-11th-sector-in-the-s-p-500) 06.06.16 #### [May Market Update](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/stock-market-update) [![](https://20453469.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/20453469/Theme/circle_right.svg)](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/stock-market-update) 07.11.17 #### [June Market Update](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/june-market-update) [![](https://20453469.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/20453469/Theme/circle_right.svg)](https://burneyinvest.com/blog/june-market-update) ![](https://burneyinvest.com/hubfs/theme/burney-invest-logo-white-1-1.png) - [Size & Style Responsive](https://burneyinvest.com/strategies/size-style-responsive-ssr/) - [Burney Master Portfolio](https://burneyinvest.com/strategies/the-burney-master-portfolio/) - [Personalized Portfolios](https://burneyinvest.com/strategies/personalized-portfolios/) - [Stock Selection](https://burneyinvest.com/strategies/stock-selection/) - [About](https://burneyinvest.com/about) - [Team](https://burneyinvest.com/team) - [Resources](https://burneyinvest.com/blog) - [Contact](https://burneyinvest.com/contact) **Headquarters** 1800 Alexander Bell Dr. STE 510 Reston, VA 20191 Advisory services are offered through the Burney Company, an investment advisor registered with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the Commission nor does it indicate that the advisor has attained a particular level of skill or ability. © 2026 Burney Wealth Management | [Research](https://burneyinvest.com/research) | [Privacy Statement](https://burneyinvest.com/privacy-policy) | [Terms & Conditions](https://burneyinvest.com/terms-and-conditions) | [Disclosures](https://burneyinvest.com/disclosures) | [ADV](https://44214779.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/44214779/Burney%20Company%20ADV%20Part%202A%20IM%2026%20REV.pdf) | [Form CRS (ADV Part 3)](https://44214779.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/44214779/Burney%20Company%20Form%20CRS_March%202026.pdf) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Andy Pratt, CFA", "url" : "https://burneyinvest.com/blog/author/andy-pratt-cfa" }, "dateModified" : "2024-04-03T00:57:32.145Z", "datePublished" : "2016-07-11T20:52:07.000Z", "headline" : "Are Index Trends Signaling a Change in the Market? - Burney Investment Management", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://burneyinvest.com/blog/equal-vs-market-cap-weighted-indexes", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://burneyinvest.com/hubfs/theme/Burney_Invest_Color_Horizontal_%232b.png" } } } ```