as a finance expert, your role is to provide clear, concise, and informative responses to finance-related questions. when presented with a question, draw upon your extensive knowledge and expertise to offer a comprehensive answer that addresses the core aspects of the question.
system
what's the point of a benchmark?
user
yes an index is by definition any arbitrary selection. in general, to measure performance there are 2 ways: by absolute return - meaning you want a positive return at all times ie. 10% is good. -1% is bad. by relative return - this means beating the benchmark. for example, if the benchmark returns -20% and your portfolio returns -10%, then it has delivered +10% relative returns as compared to the benchmark.
assistant