A mid-cap index provides a benchmark for investors interested in gauging the relative performance of mid-cap stocks or investment vehicles that hold mid-cap stocks, such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds. A mid-cap stock is defined as any equity security whose market capitalization, or market value generally falls between $2 billion and $10 billion. Some investment companies put the mid-cap range at about $3 billion to $10 billion. However, that range is not fixed and the outer bounds of the range are flexible. Despite those variances, mid-cap companies generally are in the middle of their growth curve and are expected to post sustained increases in their profits, market share, and productivity. While not as risky as small-caps, mid-caps tend to be riskier than large-caps.
There are a number of mid-cap indexes used as benchmarks to gauge the performance of mid-cap investments. None of them shares the kind of dominance and popularity of the S&P 500 Index, which is the default benchmark for many large-cap stocks and funds. Indeed, the top three large-cap ETFs by assets under management (AUM) all track the S&P 500. By contrast, each of the top three mid-cap ETFs tracks a separate index. And within the top ten, there are four separate broad-based indexes that are tracked (there are other indexes but they are themed indexes, such as value or growth, rather than broad-based). This is based on data from ETF Database as of April 7, 2022.
Those four mid-cap indexes are:
- CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Index (CRSPMI1)
- Russell Midcap Index (RMCC)
- Dow Jones U.S. Mid-Cap Total Stock Market Index (DWM)
- S&P MidCap 400 Index (SP400)
Unlike the large-cap universe, there is no clear index leader for mid-caps and the four indexes listed above vary quite a bit. This makes mid-cap investing a little more challenging than large-cap investing. Understanding which index to use as a benchmark for a particular investment is important for knowing whether or not the investment is outperforming or underperforming. Below, we look at the four mid-cap indexes listed above in more detail in order to give investors a better understanding of which mid-cap index to use for which type of mid-cap investments.
Key Takeaways
- A mid-cap stock is a stock whose market cap is generally between $2 billion and $10 billion.
- There are four different mid-cap indexes: CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Index, Russell Midcap Index, Dow Jones U.S. Mid-Cap Total Stock Market Index, and S&P MidCap 400 Index.
- These indexes differ widely in characteristics and none of them enjoys the kind of dominance among investors that the S&P 500 does with large-cap indexes.
- This means investors need to be aware of the best index to use as a benchmark to gauge the performance of their mid-cap holdings.
- All of this illustrates that while market capitalization is an important thing to keep in mind when analyzing stocks, the dividing lines between categories like “large-cap” and “mid-cap” are ultimately arbitrary.
Index Key Stat Comparison Table | ||||
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Name | CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Index (CRSPMI1) | Russell Midcap Index (RMCC) | Dow Jones U.S. Mid-Cap Total Stock Market Index (DWM) | S&P MidCap 400 Index (SP400) |
Number of Stocks | 365 | 824 | 502 | 400 |
Largest Market Cap | $51.0 billion | $61.4 billion | $40.0 billion | $17.3 billion |
Smallest Market Cap | $205 million | Data Not Available | $40.9 million | $1.6 billion |
Median Market Cap | $18.2 billion | $10.7 billion | $8.0 billion | $5.5 billion |
Mean Market Cap | $19.0 billion | $24.0 billion | $9.1 billion | $6.1 billion |
Weight of the Largest Constituent* | 0.7% | 0.6% *statistic is based on the iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF (IWR) | 0.9% | 0.7% |
Weight of the top 10* | 6.7% | 4.8% *statistic is based on the iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF (IWR) | 5.9% | 6.4% |
1-year Trailing Total Return* | 6.2% | 4.2% | 0.3% *statistic is based on the Schwab U.S. Mid-Cap ETF (SCHM) | 0.9% |
3-year Trailing Total Return* | 50.6% | 47.3% | 38.3% *statistic is based on the Schwab U.S. Mid-Cap ETF (SCHM) | 42.6% |
5-year Trailing Total Return | 85.6% | 82.3% | 72.7% *statistic is based on the Schwab U.S. Mid-Cap ETF (SCHM) | 69.3% |
Sources: data in rows from “Number of Stocks” to “Weight of the Top 10” are as of March 31, 2022, and are from: CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Index; Russell Midcap Index and iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF, which tracks the Russell Midcap Index; Dow Jones U.S. Mid-Cap Total Stock Market Index (download factsheet PDF); and S&P MidCap 400 Index (download factsheet PDF); all total return data are from YCharts as of April 5, 2022; note that the total return data for the Dow Jones U.S. Mid-Cap Total Stock Market Index are based on the Schwab U.S. Mid-Cap ETF (SCHM), which tracks the index and has a fairly low expense ratio.
Index Sector Breakdown
Each of the four major mid-cap indexes uses slightly different breakdowns of the major market sectors. For example, DWM uses a “Consumer Services” sector and a “Consumer Goods” sector instead of the more traditional “Consumer Discretionary” and “Consumer Staples” sectors. It also calls its “Energy” sector “Oil & Gas,” and does not have a separate “REITs/Real Estate” sector. DWM and CRSPMI1 both use the old “Telecommunications” sector classification, which was replaced by “Communication Services” in 2018.
The rest of the differences in classification are minor, with a slightly different name such as “Materials” instead of the traditional “Basic Materials.” Where there are differences in the naming of sectors used by the different indexes, we have indicated those differences in the corresponding cell within the table below. Also, take note that data for the sector breakdown were not available for RMCC and so the sector classification used by the iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF (IWR), which tracks RMCC, was used instead as a proxy.
Index Sector Breakdown | ||||
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CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Index | Russell Midcap Index (data based on iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF (IWR)) | Dow Jones U.S. Mid-Cap Total Stock Market Index | S&P MidCap 400 Index | |
Communication Services | 2.0% (Telecommunications) | 3.4% | 0.1% (Telecommunications) | 1.7% |
Consumer Discretionary | 13.8% | 11.2% | 11.3% (Consumer Services) | 14.0% |
Consumer Staples | 4.7% | 4.0% | 8.7% (Consumer goods) | 3.6% |
Energy | 6.4% | 5.8% | 5.0% (Oil & Gas) | 3.6% |
Financials | 11.6% | 12.5% | 24.0% | 14.2% |
Healthcare | 11.0% | 11.3% | 9.8% | 9.2% |
Industrials | 14.2% | 14.2% | 20.9% | 18.7% |
Basic Materials | 3.9% | 6.1% (Materials) | 5.1% | 7.4% (Materials) |
Utilities | 6.4% | 5.4% | 3.3% | 3.4% |
REITs/Real Estate | 9.7% | 8.6% | N/A | 10.1% |
Information Technology | 16.4% (Technology) | 17.5% | 11.7% (Technology) | 14.1% |
Sources: CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Index; iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF; Dow Jones U.S. Mid-Cap Total Stock Market Index (download Factsheet PDF); and S&P MidCap 400 Index (download Factsheet PDF); all data as of March 31, 2022, except data for IWR (used for the Russell Midcap Index), which are as of April 7, 2022; percentage shares of sectors for each index may not add to 100% due to rounding.
Mid-Cap Index ETF Comparison | ||||
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Name (Ticker Symbol) | Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO) | iShares Russell Midcap ETF (IWR) | Schwab U.S. Mid-Cap ETF (SCHM) | iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH) |
Index Tracked | CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Index | Russell Midcap Index | Dow Jones U.S. Mid-Cap Total Stock Market Index | S&P MidCap 400 Index |
1-year Trailing Total Return | 5.5% | 3.3% | -0.3% | 0.2% |
Assets Under Management (AUM) | $54.2 billion | $30.2 billion | $9.8 billion | $64.5 billion |
Expense Ratio | 0.04% | 0.19% | 0.04% | 0.05% |
Inception Date | Jan. 26, 2004 | July 17, 2001 | Jan. 13, 2011 | May 22, 2000 |
Issuer | Vanguard | BlackRock | Charles Schwab | BlackRock |
Largest Holding | Palo Alto Networks Inc. (PANW) | Palo Alto Networks Inc. (PANW) | Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) | Targa Resources Corp. (TRGP) |
Second Largest Holding | Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) | Marvell Technology Inc. (MRVL) | Mosaic Co. (MOS) | Alcoa Corp. (AA) |
Third Largest Holding | Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) | Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) | ON Semiconductor Corp. (ON) | Steel Dynamics Inc. (STLD) |
Sources: ETF Database: Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO), iShares Russell Midcap ETF (IWR), Schwab U.S. Mid-Cap ETF (SCHM), and iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH); all data are as of April 7, 2022.
Mid-Cap Indexes Analyzed: Defining a Mid Cap
Based on the four mid-cap indexes analyzed above, it’s evident that “mid-cap” is a market-cap classification with flexible boundaries. None of the indexes sticks to the traditional market-cap range of between $2 billion and $10 billion. Nor do they contain the same number of constituents, with RMCC being the largest outlier at 824 total stocks. There are also significant differences in the sector breakdowns for each index. This should also help illustrate that, while market capitalization is an important factor when analyzing stocks, the dividing lines between the size categories companies are placed in are ultimately arbitrary.
The index that most closely follows the traditional market-cap range is S&P 400. Its largest and smallest market cap are still outside the spectrum, but its range is the tightest compared to the other three indexes. S&P 400’s range is from a low of $1.6 billion to a high of $17.3 billion. S&P 400’s median and mean market caps are also somewhat close to the middle of the traditional classification’s range. In terms of sector breakdowns, S&P 400 gives a relatively high weighting toward industrials, at 18.7%, compared to CRSPMI1 and RMCC. However, that weighting is lower than the weighting for industrials used by DWM.
The only other index where the mean and median fall within the traditional range is DWM. Its mean and median market cap fall just below the upper bound at $9.1 billion and $8.0 billion, respectively. However, the stock with the largest market cap within DWM is well above that upper bound, with a market cap of $40.0 billion. DWM is also the index that has the stock with the smallest market cap at $40.9 million. Considering sector breakdowns, DWM is notable for its extremely large weightings…
Read More: Comparing Mid-Cap Indexes