what is the russell 3000 index 
the russell 3000 index is part of the ftse russell that provides exposure to the u s stock market its date of inception is jan 1 1984 the index measures the performance of the largest 3 000 u s companies representing approximately 96 of the investable u s equity market 1understanding the russell 3000 indexthe russell 3000 index is a building block for the large cap russell 1000 and the small cap russell 2000 indexes the largest 1 000 stocks indexed in the russell 3000 constitute the russell 1000 while the russell 2000 is a subset of the smallest 2 000 components of the russell 3000 23the russell 3000 index is constructed to provide a comprehensive unbiased and stable barometer of the broad market and is reconstituted annually to ensure that new and growing equities are included securities in the financial consumer discretionary healthcare and technology sectors represent a significant portion of the underlying index as of may 31 2024 the average market capitalization of the russell 3000 stock holdings was 790 billion the index had a total of 2 932 holdings 1russell 3000 top holdingsrussell index 3000 reconstitutionthe russell u s indexes are designed to reflect the ever changing u s equity market and the annual reconstitution process is critical to maintaining accurate representation when the indexes are reconstituted the breakpoints among large cap mid cap and small cap stocks are redefined to ensure market changes that have occurred in the preceding year are captured companies are evaluated to determine where they lie along the investment spectrum from value to growth companies will be added to removed or swapped among the russell 3000 2000 and 1000 stocks in the russell 3000 index are reconstituted once a year on the last friday in june 4investing in the russell 3000 indexftse russell group does not offer direct investment opportunities investors can purchase individual shares of each company represented in the russell 3000 index but many financial institutions offer exchange traded funds etfs or index funds that mimic the performance of the russell 3000 and contain its component stocks russell 3000 vs other indexesthe s p 500 index tracks the largest 500 publicly traded companies with exposure to 80 of u s stocks compared to the russell 3000 s 96 the dow jones industrial average djia measures the performance of 30 large companies covering all sectors except transportation and utilities 56the nasdaq composite index measures stocks listed exclusively on the nasdaq exchange there are over 3 000 securities listed on the nasdaq composite which gives it a broader exposure than the s p 500 or the djia but weighs heavily in the technology sector 7limitations of the russell 3000 indexcan individuals invest directly in an index investors cannot invest directly in a stock index such as the russell 3000 or the s p 500 but can invest in an index fund or etf that tracks the performance of the target index 