Index
An average of the prices of a hypothetical basket of securities representing a particular market or portion of a market. Among the most well known are the Dow Jones Industrials Index, or the Dow; the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, or the S&P 500; and the Russell 2000 Index. Index performance is not indicative of the past performance of a particular investment. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Individuals cannot invest directly in an index.