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Markets in a Minute

All S&P 500 Sectors and Industries, by Size

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S&P 500 sectors and industries

S&P 500 Sectors and Industries

All of the S&P 500 Sectors and Industries, by Size

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The S&P 500 is one of the most widely quoted stock market indexes, but do you know how it’s comprised? From soft drinks to semiconductors, the benchmark index tracks an extremely wide variety of industries across the U.S. economy.

In this Markets in a Minute chart from New York Life Investments, we show every sector and its underlying industries by size.

A Sector View

At a high level, the S&P 500 tracks broad segments of the economy known as sectors. Here’s how the percentage allocation in the index breaks down:

SectorPercent of S&P 500 Index
Information Technology27.48%
Health Care14.58%
Consumer Discretionary11.18%
Communication Services10.90%
Financials9.89%
Industrials7.90%
Consumer Staples7.05%
Utilities3.13%
Real Estate2.80%
Materials2.56%
Energy2.53%

Data as of July 31, 2020.

Information technology, which makes up almost 28% of the index, has outperformed other sectors by a wide margin so far in 2020. At the other end of the spectrum, real estate, materials, and energy each make up less than 3% of the index.

Diving Deeper: An Industry View

While investors are likely familiar with sectors, the specific underlying industries may be lesser known. Below is a complete industry breakdown of the S&P 500.

Click “Next” to view industry breakdowns of each sector

SectorIndustry% of Sector
Communication Services
Advertising0.63%
Alternative Carriers0.32%
Broadcasting1.23%
Cable & Satellite9.86%
Integrated Telecommunication Services15.22%
Interactive Home Entertainment4.18%
Interactive Media & Services51.52%
Movies & Entertainment14.69%
Publishing & Printing0.22%
Communication Services (cont'd)Wireless Telecommunication Services2.12%
Consumer Discretionary
Apparel Retail3.39%
Apparel, Accessories & Luxury Goods1.27%
Auto Parts & Equipment0.94%
Automobile Manufacturers1.89%
Automotive Retail2.97%
Casinos & Gaming0.98%
Computer & Electronics Retail0.75%
Consumer Electronics0.47%
Consumer Discretionary (cont'd)Department Stores0.10%
Distributors0.71%
Footwear4.00%
General Merchandise Stores4.40%
Home Furnishings0.33%
Home Improvement Retail13.16%
Homebuilding2.19%
Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines2.05%
Household Appliances0.34%
Housewares & Specialties0.21%
Consumer Discretionary (cont'd)Internet & Direct Marketing Retail47.65%
Leisure Products0.31%
Restaurants10.44%
Specialized Consumer Services0.09%
Specialty Stores1.36%
Consumer Staples
Agricultural Products1.25%
Brewers0.37%
Distillers & Vintners2.23%
Drug Retail1.57%
Consumer Staples (cont'd)Food Distributors1.41%
Food Retail1.43%
Household Products26%
HyperMarkets & Super Centers17.15%
Packaged Foods & Meats14.79%
Personal Products2.39%
Soft Drinks21.13%
Tobacco10.28%
Energy
Integrated Oil & Gas50.88%
Energy (cont'd)Oil & Gas Equipment & Services8.13%
Oil & Gas Exploration & Production20.30%
Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing11.51%
Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation9.18%
Financials
Asset Management & Custody Banks8.08%
Consumer Finance4.40%
Diversified Banks27.43%
Financial Exchanges & Data11.91%
Insurance Brokers5.77%
Financials (cont'd)Investment Banking & Brokerage6.63%
Life & Health Insurance4.08%
Multi-line Insurance1.84%
Multi-Sector Holdings14.23%
Property & Casualty Insurance7.41%
Regional Banks7.91%
Reinsurance0.33%
Health Care
Biotechnology15.66%
Health Care Distributors1.65%
Health Care (cont'd)Health Care Equipment25.73%
Health Care Facilities1.06%
Health Care Services4.80%
Health Care Supplies1.64%
Health Care Technology0.54%
Life Sciences Tools & Services8.56%
Managed Health Care11.30%
Pharmaceuticals29.08%
Industrials
Aerospace & Defense20.41%
Industrials (cont'd)Agricultural & Farm Machinery2.58%
Air Freight & Logistics7.85%
Airlines2.27%
Building Products5.57%
Construction & Engineering0.78%
Construction Machinery & Heavy Trucks6.61%
Diversified Support Services2.09%
Electrical Components & Equipment5.66%
Environmental & Facilities Services3.20%
Human Resource & Employment Services0.27%
Industrials (cont'd)Industrial Conglomerates13.56%
Industrial Machinery10.12%
Railroads11.13%
Research & Consulting Services4.11%
Trading Companies & Distributors2.48%
Trucking1.32%
Information Technology
Application Software8.79%
Communications Equipment3.42%
Data Processing & Outsourced Services15.67%
Information Technology (cont'd)Electronic Components0.74%
Electronic Equipment & Instruments0.53%
Electronic Manufacturing Services0.48%
Internet Services & Infrastructure0.54%
IT Consulting & Other Services4.27%
Semiconductor Equipment1.95%
Semiconductors15.10%
Systems Software24.00%
Technology Distributors0.22%
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals24.29%
Materials
Commodity Chemicals6.71%
Construction Materials4.11%
Copper2.71%
Diversified Chemicals1.46%
Fertilizers & Agricultural Chemicals6.71%
Gold8.02%
Industrial Gases27.73%
Metal & Glass Containers3.47%
Paper Packaging8.80%
Materials (cont'd)Specialty Chemicals28.45%
Steel1.82%
Real Estate
Health Care REITs6.78%
Hotel & Resort REITs1.00%
Industrial REITs12.24%
Office REITs5.85%
Real Estate Services1.94%
Residential REITs11.20%
Retail REITs7.51%
Real Estate (cont'd)Specialized REITs53.48%
Utilities
Electric Utilities62.41%
Gas Utilities1.53%
Independent Power Producers & Energy Traders1.20%
Water Utilities3.15%
Multi-Utilities31.71%

Data as of July 31, 2020.

In total, the S&P 500 tracks 126 industries, and each one presents unique risks and opportunities.

Biotechnology, which focuses on novel drug development and clinical research for treating diseases, has gained renewed interest during the COVID-19 pandemic. While successful drugs can offer high potential returns, about 90% of clinical programs ultimately fail. Investors can screen potential companies for various factors including corporate sponsor support, ample long-term funds, and a pipeline with more than one product.

Another example is aerospace and defense. Due to the high barriers to entry and significant funding from the U.S. government, this can be an attractive industry for investors. However, it can be impacted by the current government’s defense policies. For example, the aerospace and defense industry performed well after President Donald Trump was elected, and it may be influenced by the November 2020 election results.

The Big Picture

With a full view of the S&P 500 sectors and industries, investors can get a better idea of the opportunities within U.S. large cap stocks. However, it’s worth noting that it is not possible to invest directly in an index. Investors can put funds in these industries by purchasing stocks directly, or through managed products such as ETFs and mutual funds that track index performance.

By exploring every corner of the economy, investors can take advantage of growth potential in various areas—not just those trending in the news cycle.

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Markets in a Minute

What Were the Top Performing Investment Themes of 2023?

In 2023, several investment themes outperformed the S&P 500 by a wide margin. Here are the top performers—from blockchain to AI.

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The Top Performing Investment Themes in 2023

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

While the S&P 500 rebounded over 24% in 2023, many investment themes soared even higher.

In many ways, the year was defined by breakthrough announcements in AI and the resurgence of Bitcoin. At the same time, investors looked to nuclear energy ETFs thanks to nuclear’s growing role as a low carbon energy source and the war in Ukraine.

This graphic shows the best performing investment themes last year, based on data from Trackinsight.

Blockchain ETFs Lead the Pack

With 82% returns, blockchain ETFs outperformed all other themes in the U.S. due to the sharp rise in the bitcoin price over the year.

These ETFs hold mainly bitcoin mining firms, since ETFs investing directly in bitcoin were not yet approved by regulators in 2023. However, as of January 2024, U.S. regulators have approved 11 spot bitcoin ETFs for trading, which drew in $10 billion in assets in their first 20 days alone.

Below, we show the top performing themes across U.S. ETFs in 2023:

Theme2023 Performance
Blockchain82%
Next Generation Internet80%
Metaverse59%
FinTech54%
Nuclear Energy50%
Cloud Computing49%
AI/Big Data49%
Gig Economy48%
Digital Infrastructure & Connectivity43%

As we can see, next generation internet ETFs—which include companies focused on the internet of things and new payment methods—also boomed.

Meanwhile, nuclear energy ETFs had a banner year as uranium prices hit 15-year highs. Investor optimism for nuclear power is part of a wider trend of reactivating nuclear power plants globally in the push towards decarbonizing the energy supply. In fact, 63 new reactors across countries including Japan, Türkiye, and China are planned for construction amid higher global demand.

With 49% returns, AI and big data ETFs were another top performing investment theme. Driving these returns were companies like chipmaker Nvidia, whose share price jumped by 239% in 2023 thanks to its technology being fundamental to powering AI models.

Top Investment Themes, by Net Flows

Here are the the investment themes that saw the highest net flows over the year:

Theme2023 Net Flows
Robotics & Automation$1,303M
Nuclear Energy$997M
AI/Big Data$987M
Global Infrastructure$734M
Net Zero 2050$716M
Blockchain$357M
Cannabis & Psychedelics$270M
Emerging Markets Consumer Growth$203M

Overall, ETFs focused on robotics and automation saw the greatest net flows amid wider deployment of these technologies across factories, healthcare, and transportation actvities.

The success of AI large language models over the year is another key factor in powering robotics capabilities. For instance, Microsoft is planning to build a robot powered by ChatGPT that provides it with higher context awareness of certain tasks.

Like robotics and automation, AI and big data, along with blockchain ETFs attracted high inflows.

Interestingly, ETFs surrounding emerging markets consumer growth saw strong inflows thanks to an expanding middle class across countries like India and China spurring potential growth opportunities. In 2024, 113 million people are projected to join the global middle class, seen mainly across countries in Asia.

Will Current Trends Continue in 2024?

So far, many of these investment themes have continued to see positive momentum including blockchain and next generation internet ETFs.

In many cases, these investment themes cover broad, underlying trends that have the potential to reshape sectors and industries. Going further, select investment themes have often defined each decade thanks to factors like technological disruption, geopolitics, and the economic environment.

While several factors could impact their performance—such as a global downturn or a second wave of inflation—it remains to be seen if investor demand will carry through the year and beyond.

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Markets in a Minute

Ranked: What People Value Most in a Financial Advisor

Positive reviews and recommendations are some of the least important factors—so what do people look for in a financial advisor?

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A bar chart of what people value in a financial advisor, showing that personalization is related to three of the top four answers.

Ranked: What People Value Most in a Financial Advisor

Are advisors putting their focus where it matters? You might think that positive reviews and recommendations would be a top consideration for people choosing a financial advisor. However, other qualities appear to be much more important.

This graphic uses data from Morningstar’s Voice of the Advisor report to outline what people value most in a financial advisor.

The Qualities Investors Value

Morningstar surveyed 400 people: 100 Caucasian women, 150 women of color, and 150 men of color. The values below show how often people chose an item as most or least important when working with an advisor.

QualityMost ImportantLeast Important
Expertise and knowledge in financial planning and investments60%11%
Personalized financial advice that meets my specific goals and needs54%16%
Ability to understand my risk tolerance and appropriately align my investments47%17%
Specialization in specific financial situations, such as retirement planning45%17%
Ability to communicate complex financial concepts in an understandable way42%22%
Transparent fee structure and pricing for my advisor’s services42%22%
Trust and rapport established during the initial meetings with my advisor36%24%
Ability to incorporate investment options that reflect my values22%41%
Positive online reviews or ratings about my advisor’s services22%46%
Recommendations from friends or family who had a positive experience with my advisor20%47%
Commitment to diversity and inclusion, making me feel comfortable and respected20%47%
Recommendations from other professionals, such as accountants or attorneys19%50%
Shares a similar background or cultural understanding10%68%

Participants were asked the following question: “On each screen, we will show you 3 items to think about when working with a financial advisor. Select which one is most important and which one is the least important of the items. You will see more than one screen and items may appear more than once.”

Enjoying this content? Dive into more insights in the Voice of the Advisor Report:

Report cover titled Four Opportunities to Elevate the Advisor-Client Relationship through Personalization with additional report pages shown. There is also a red button that says Click for exclusive insights.

Even among a survey pool that was mostly people of color, the majority of respondents didn’t think a commitment to diversity or a shared background were important.

Instead, three of the top four factors were related to personalization.

Personalization: A Key Quality in a Financial Advisor

People cared deeply about personalization regardless of gender and race. It was even more important to those with more than $250,000 in assets, suggesting that personalization may become more critical as a person’s portfolio value increases.

Even investors not currently working with an advisor and non-investors noted that personalization would be a top quality they would look for in a financial advisor.

Within personalization, people noted risk management was a very important element. Financial advisors can highlight their ability to tailor financial plans based on each person’s risk tolerance in order to attract clients.

Looking for tips on how to grow your advisory business? Get insights on what investors want, and how other advisors are evolving, in Morningstar’s Voice of the Advisor report.

Report cover titled Four Opportunities to Elevate the Advisor-Client Relationship through Personalization with additional report pages shown. There is also a yellow button that says get the free report now.

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