Red October highlighted the problem with the S&P 500 – is there an alternative?

The S&P 500 index fell nearly one percent in October, even though most of its component stocks rose, due to the heavy weighting of big tech companies. The article presents the equal-weight index as an alternative, which gained about 5% in October, but warns that over the past five years its return has been lower.

In a summary of October 2026, the S&P 500 index fell nearly one percent, even though most of its component stocks actually rose. The reason is the high concentration of the index, where giant tech stocks like Nvidia and Apple (about 8% each) give them a decisive influence on its performance. The article presents an alternative: the S&P 500 Equal Weight index, which gives each of the 500 stocks an identical weight of about 0.2%. In October, the equal-weight index rose about 5%, while the regular index weakened. However, over the past five years, the regular index has returned nearly 65% compared to less than 40% for the equal-weight index. For those interested in exposure to the index, ETFs such as Invesco's RSP, and Israeli funds from Harel (5137807) and IBI (5136833) are mentioned.