Home
>
Stocks & Mutual Fund
>
The Exclusive Club of Large Caps

The Exclusive Club of Large Caps

Picture one of those clubs where only the real heavyweights need apply. In the library the old aristocrats, General Motors and JP Morgan, are dozing in their leather chairs. On the terrace, a late luncheon is underway for those who have only improved their standing through marriage. ExxonMobil and Citigroup are part of the party. At the bar, a number of the"nouveau riche" have gathered - Microsoft seems to be buying for Intel and Hewlett Packard. Welcome to the world of the Large Cap Stock Club, the biggest of the worlds publicly traded companies.

For those interested in applying, membership includes a minimum market capitalization of at least $1 billion and can go upwards to $10 billion depending on whom you talk to. Included in the resumes are often affiliations with other well known groups. 30 are currently with the Dow Jones Industrial Index and many more with the Standard and Poor's 500. Both these groups are widely followed indicators of the health of the stock market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) traces its lineage back to 1928 when companies like Victor Talking Machine (later merged into RCA Corp.), Nash Motors (later merged into American Motors) and F.W. Woolworth Company kept company with General Electric and General Motors, the only two remaining original members. Today, household names like McDonalds, Home Depot, Disney and Wal-Mart have replaced some of their earlier brethren. Calculating the average is done by adding the prices of the 30 stocks and dividing by an adjusted denominator.

Because the Standard and Poor's 500 Index (S&P 500) has 500 companies in the index, many believe this to be a more accurate indicator than the DJIA. Also unlike the Dow Jones Industrial Index, the S&P 500 is a weighted index - meaning each stock's weight is determined by its market value.

Unofficially, some Large Cap companies are known as "blue chips". This term originally came from poker chips where the blue chips were the most expensive. Today, this generally denotes high quality, usually being reserved for large companies with stable earnings and a history of dividend growth.

Investors in mutual funds are apparently big fans of Large Cap stocks. Of the 10 largest mutual funds, seven are invested primarily in US Stock and all of these (Growth Fund of America, Investment Company of America, American Funds, Washington Mutual, Dodge & Cox Stock, Fidelity Contrafund, Fidelity Magellan, and Vanguard Index 500) are Large Cap funds.

One might think that, with all these pedigrees, the world of large caps might be scandal free, but with the recent lessons learned from Enron and WorldCom, we know that even the mightiest can fall from their lofty perches. Once again, we are reminded that when it comes to investing, there simply are no guarantees.

Looking at returns (using the annual returns of the S&P 500 from 1926 - 2004, including reinvestment of dividends ) we find that the best year for Large Caps was 1933 with a return of +53.99%. On the other hand, two years prior to that, in 1931, the return was a dismal -43.34%. Of the 78 years between 1926 - 2004, the S&P 500 posted positive returns for 56 of those years. To put it another way, therehave been more than twice as many up years as there were down years. Naturally, this is all past track record. The future holds no guarantees that this will continue.

Turning again to Large Cap mutual funds, it is important to note that most are "managed" funds, rather than "unmanaged" funds like the S&P 500 Index. This simply means that most mutual funds have managers who pick certain stocks out of the large cap universe rather than follow an index of the entire universe. This not only creates return differences between the funds and the indexes, but also creates differences between the funds as well.

It may also be a good idea to check the dividend history of funds. While some funds specifically buy stocks with higher dividends, other funds could care less what dividends are paid. Normally, stock based mutual funds will pay dividends once a year (usually in December), but sometimes pay more frequently. Whatever the case, the amount of dividends can be important depending on the need for income.

Obviously, large companies shouldn't be the only asset class considered for a well rounded portfolio. Mid-size companies and small-size companies are important to achieve proper asset allocation. However, for investing in well known companies that are truly the "movers and shakers," nothing beats the Large Cap Stocks.

Home James!

Glenn ("Chip") Dahlke, a senior contributor to the Living Trust Network, is a Registered Representative of Linsco/Private Ledger and a principal with Dahlke Financial Group. He is licensed to transact securities with persons who are residents of the following states: CA. CT, FL, GA, IL. MA, MD. ME, MI. NC, NH, NJ, NY.OR, PA, RI, VA, VT, WY.

If you have any questions or comments, Chip would love to hear from you. You may contact him at dahlkefinancial@sbcglobal.net. You may also contact him by going directly to the Living Trust Network web site located at dahlkefinancial@sbcglobal.net

no-contract cleaning service Mundelein ..

In The News:

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

A new phishing scam targets family photos with fake "Cloud Storage Full" alerts. Criminals steal credit card information through fake sites. Learn protection tips.

The Exclusive Club of Large Caps

Stocks & Mutual Fund