Top 5 Stocks In S&P 500 1980–2020

The chart below offers an interesting distraction in these turbulent times. The gradual change in the composition of the largest S&P weightings over-time offers a variety of lessons.

The change from 1980 to 2020 (roughly half a lifetime) illustrates the remarkable diminishment of the economic influence of the oil industry in favour of the dominance of companies empowered by the development of the internet.

The much greater weighting represented by the top 5 in 2020 than in previous years suggests that we can expect greater S&P volatility, both up and down, in the years ahead.

The most conspicuous lesson, of course, is the role that change plays in the capital markets and our lives. The most certain lesson from the chart is that the top 5 stocks in 2060 will look very different than in 2020.

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