Sectors Weights | S&P 500 Index | MSCI EAFE Index | MSCI EM Index | MSCI Europe Index | MSCI Asia Pacific Index |
MSCI EM Latin America Index |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Information Technology | 28.86% | 8.56% | 22.16% | 7.13% | 19.02% | 0.54% |
Financials | 12.97% | 18.94% | 22.33% | 17.88% | 18.82% | 25.92% |
Health Care | 12.62% | 12.82% | 3.76% | 15.15% | 6.03% | 1.60% |
Consumer Discretionary | 10.85% | 11.82% | 12.76% | 10.52% | 14.44% | 1.87% |
Industrials | 8.81% | 16.38% | 6.77% | 15.87% | 11.88% | 10.71% |
Communication Services | 8.58% | 4.09% | 8.83% | 3.13% | 7.65% | 4.04% |
Consumer Staples | 6.16% | 9.30% | 6.01% | 11.77% | 5.02% | 16.12% |
Energy | 3.89% | 4.33% | 5.12% | 6.30% | 2.84% | 12.81% |
Real Estate | 2.52% | 2.46% | 1.65% | 0.89% | 4.96% | 1.28% |
Materials | 2.41% | 7.84% | 7.91% | 7.09% | 7.32% | 18.26% |
Utilities | 2.34% | 3.48% | 2.70% | 4.27% | 2.01% | 6.85% |
Risks
Equity sector risks
Sector investing can be more volatile than investments that are broadly diversified over numerous sectors of the economy and will increase a portfolio’s vulnerability to any single economic, political, or regulatory development affecting the sector. This can result in greater price volatility. Communication Services companies are vulnerable to their products and services becoming outdated because of technological advancement and the innovation of competitors. Companies in the communication services sector may also be affected by rapid technology changes; pricing competition, large equipment upgrades, substantial capital requirements and government regulation and approval of products and services. In addition, companies within the industry may invest heavily in research and development which is not guaranteed to lead to successful implementation of the proposed product. Risks associated with the Consumer Discretionary sector include, among others, apparel price deflation due to low-cost entries, high inventory levels and pressure from e-commerce players; reduction in traditional advertising dollars; increasing household debt levels that could limit consumer appetite for discretionary purchases. Consumer Staples industries can be significantly affected by competitive pricing particularly with respect to the growth of low-cost emerging market production, government regulation, the performance of overall economy, interest rates, and consumer confidence. The Energy sector may be adversely affected by changes in worldwide energy prices, exploration, production spending, government regulation, and changes in exchange rates, depletion of natural resources and risks that arise from extreme weather conditions. Investing in Financial Services companies will subject a portfolio to adverse economic or regulatory occurrences affecting the sector. Key risks to the Financials sector include maturation of the credit cycle resulting in higher credit losses and tighter lending standards, lower interest rates leading to a reduction in profitability, and capital market weakness reducing assets under management as well as constraints around accessing the markets for growth capital. Some of the risks associated with investment in the Health Care sector include competition on branded products, sales erosion due to cheaper alternatives, research & development risk, government regulations and government approval of products anticipated to enter the market. Risks associated with investing in the Industrial sector include the possibility of a worsening in the global economy, acquisition integration risk, operational issues, failure to introduce to market new and innovative products, further weakening in the oil market, potential price wars due to any excesses industry capacity, and a sustained rise in the dollar relative to other currencies. Materials industries can be significantly affected by the volatility of commodity prices, the exchange rate between foreign currency and the dollar, export/import concerns, worldwide competition, procurement and manufacturing and cost containment issues. Technology and Internet-related stocks, especially of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Real estate has special risks including the possible illiquidity of underlying properties, credit risk, interest rate fluctuations and the impact of varied economic condition. Utilities are sensitive to changes in interest rates and the securities within the sector can be volatile and may underperform in a slow economy.
Definitions
Index definitions
S&P 500 Index is a market capitalization-weighted index composed of 500 stocks generally considered representative of the U.S. stock market.MSCI EAFE Index is a free-float-adjusted market-capitalization-weighted index designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets, excluding the U.S. and Canada.
MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) Index is a free-float-adjusted market-capitalization-weighted index designed to measure equity market performance of emerging markets.
MSCI EM Latin America Index captures large and mid cap representation across 6 Emerging Markets countries in Latin America. With 108 constituents, the index covers approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization. in each country.
MSCI Europe Index captures large and mid cap representation across 15 Developed Markets (DM) countries in Europe. With 438 constituents, the index covers approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization across the European Developed Markets equity universe.
MSCI Asia Pacific Index captures large and mid cap representation across 5 Developed Markets countries and 9 Emerging Markets. countries in the Asia Pacific region. With 1,335 constituents, the index covers approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market. capitalization in each country.
MSCI makes no express or implied warranties or representations and shall have no liability whatsoever with respect to any MSCI data contained herein. The MSCI data may not be further redistributed or used as a basis for other indexes or any securities or financial products. This report is not approved, reviewed, or produced by MSCI.
Sources:© 2023 – Morningstar Direct, All Rights Reserved1, Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), and Wells Fargo Investment Institute, as of December 31, 2023. EM = emerging markets. An index is unmanaged and not available for direct investment. See "Index Definitions and Asset Class Risk Disclosures" link above for index definitions and equity sector risks.
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Key Takeaways
- Sector compositions can help explain relative performance differences.
- A lower weighting to the Information Technology sector in the MSCI EAFE Index may have contributed to its relative underperformance over the past 17 years.