Mapping the US Equity Market since 1984
In 1984, FTSE Russell (at the time Russell Indexes) introduced the Russell 3000® Index, the first of its kind to provide institutional investors with a comprehensive, accurate and objective representation of the world’s largest and most liquid (US) equity market.
At the time of inception, existing US equity indices were either unrepresentative of the opportunity set, lacking small and mid cap stocks (missing out on an important source of returns) or too broad (causing managers to run up against liquidity and regulatory constraints such as those set out by the Securities and Exchange Commission).
The Russell 3000 Index consists of the well-known Russell 1000® (large cap) and Russell 2000® (small cap) sub-indices, as well as their growth and value style components.
All US indices have undergone a series of methodological enhancements over the decades and now with approximately $12trn benchmarked to them (inclusive of 70 percent to a Russell Growth or Value style index) are widely accepted as the leading US equity benchmarks.
Every year in June, the Russell 3000 is fully reconstituted to ensure accurate representation of the ever-changing US equity market and its segments.