86 Companies in the S&P 500 Since the Start

March 2, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - As Standard and Poor's celebrates the 50th birthday of its S&P 500 Index, - an event that falls on Sunday - the company has put out a list of stocks in the index since the beginning in March 1957.

The company  said 86 original constituents of the S&P 500 have survived through the years including some big names such as:

  • Boeing Co.
  • Coca-Cola
  • Ford Motor Co.
  • General Electric
  • IBM
  • Procter & Gamble  

In its 50 years, the S&P 500 has become a widely quoted measure of the stock market and a popular benchmark for Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and index-linked futures.   Nearly $ 4.5 trillion is benchmarked to the S&P 500, of which nearly $1.5 trillion is directly invested in the index, according to S&P.

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According to the company, the S&P 500 is a market-value weighted index – each stock’s weight in the index is proportionate to its market value. Total market value is determined by multiplying the price of the stock by the number of shares outstanding.

To be included in the S&P 500 index, a company must have market capitalization exceeding $4 billion and, like all S&P U.S. index constituents, must meet the Standard & Poor’s published guidelines for inclusion.

The complete list of companies in the S&P 500 for the whole 50 years is   here .

You can read more about the S&P 500  HERE

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