Indexing for Maximum Investment Results

-Choosing a benchmark-Using derivatives to index-Overview of the market place-Key performance track records-Key tool for many investorsTwenty-four years after investment managers decided to implement Standard & Poor's 500 indexing strategy, the verdict is in. The first indexers beat more than 99 percent of all actively managed stock funds. Over the last ten years, funds based on the S&P 500 out-performed more than 80 percent of all mutual funds. Today about 450 billion dollars is indexed to the S&P 500, almost 10 percent of the total market value of all stocks traded in the U.S. The strategy has been applied to other asset classes, including bonds and real estate. In total, indexing now accounts for more than 25 percent of the investment methodology of all pension funds in the U.S. Topics include: choosing a benchmark; overview of the marketplace; using derivatives to index; performance track record versus active management; index methodology and other styles; and index price effects on constituent securities.