Summary

• The Russell 1000 captures a broader slice of the US equity market by including around 1,000 companies, while the S&P 500 focuses on a fixed set of 500 stocks.
• S&P 500 inclusion is decided by an index committee, applying both quantitative screens and qualitative judgement.
• The Russell 1000 uses a relative market capitalisation ranking, with a breakpoint that evolves over time.
• Russell US Indexes follow defined schedules for reconstitution and IPO inclusion, including fast‑entry rules for large listings.

By Catherine Yoshimoto, Director, Product Management

Overview

Both the Russell 1000 and the S&P 500 indexes have the same headline objective: to measure the performance of the large-cap segment of the US equity market.

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