The S&P 500 is one of the most popular indexes in the world. With the 500 largest companies tracked by the S&P 500 Index since 1957, it is commonly used as a benchmark for the entire U.S. Stock Market.
The S&P 500 is a free-float market capitalization-weighted index, which means that stocks are not only weighted by their market capitalization, but also by their free-float factor. The free-float represents the portion of stock's shares that are not restricted or held by big investors and company insiders.
The stocks that are part of the S&P 500 index are chosen from the largest American stock exchanges (NYSE and NASDAQ) by a team of analysts and economists working for the Standard & Poor's (S&P Index Committee). The Standard & Poor's owns the S&P 500 as well as several other indexes.
Trading financial instruments, including foreign exchange on margin, carries a high level of risk and is not suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to invest in financial instruments or foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with trading and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any doubts.
