# S&P Dow Jones Indices

S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) is a global index provider that calculates and licenses benchmarks, including the [S&P 500](https://www.edgepedia.org/s-and-p-500) and the [Dow Jones Industrial Average](https://www.edgepedia.org/dow-jones-industrial-average). It was formed on July 2, 2012, when McGraw-Hill contributed its S&P Indices business and the [CME Group](https://www.edgepedia.org/cme-group)/Dow Jones joint venture contributed the Dow Jones Indexes business to create a single company.<sup>[1](https://investor.spglobal.com/news-releases/news-details/2012/The-McGraw-Hill-Companies-CME-Group-Announce-the-Launch-of-SP-Dow-Jones-Indices-2012-7-2/default.aspx)</sup> At launch it calculated over 830,000 indices, published benchmarks underlying 575 ETFs globally with $387 billion in assets, and served as the basis for $1.5 trillion of indexed assets.<sup>[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64040/000089882212000311/exhibit991.htm)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Formation | Joint venture announced November 4, 2011; DOJ antitrust review completed June 14, 2012; closed June 29, 2012; launched July 2, 2012<sup>[3](https://investor.cmegroup.com/static-files/4d4120c5-8e01-43c8-b4f8-d3a6e93514b1)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://investor.spglobal.com/news-releases/news-details/2012/The-McGraw-Hill-Companies-and-CME-Group-Announce-U.S.-Department-of-Justice-Antitrust-Review-Has-Been-Completed-for-New-SP-Dow-Jones-Indices-Joint-Venture-2012-6-14/default.aspx)</sup> |
| Ownership at launch | McGraw-Hill 73%; CME Group 24.4% through affiliates plus Dow Jones & Company indirectly 2.6% (the LLC agreement records 73% and 27% for the two parents)<sup>[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64040/000089882212000311/exhibit991.htm)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64040/000089882212000311/exhibit992.htm)</sup> |
| Scale today | $27.7 trillion indexed or benchmarked to S&P DJI indices; $20 trillion to the S&P 500 alone, of which $13 trillion is passively managed<sup>[6](https://investorfactbook.spglobal.com/sp-dow-jones-indices/sp-dow-jones-indices-annual-survey-of-assets/)</sup> |
| Revenue | $421 million in 2011; $1.63 billion in 2024, a 16% gain that returned S&P DJI to first place with 25.4% of industry revenue<sup>[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64040/000089882212000311/exhibit991.htm)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[7](https://tpicap.com/burtontaylor/sites/g/files/escbpb181/files/burton-taylor/reports/2025-04/Index%20Industry%20Benchmark%20Report%20-%20Burton%20Taylor_2025_FULL%20YEAR%202024_1.pdf)</sup> |
| Fee mix (2024) | Asset-based fees $1,046 million, subscriptions $292 million, other $290 million; traditional equity $1,449 million, fixed income $74.9 million, factor $30.9 million, ESG $22.8 million<sup>[7](https://tpicap.com/burtontaylor/sites/g/files/escbpb181/files/burton-taylor/reports/2025-04/Index%20Industry%20Benchmark%20Report%20-%20Burton%20Taylor_2025_FULL%20YEAR%202024_1.pdf)</sup> |
| ETF-linked assets | $4.4 trillion in S&P DJI-linked ETFs at year-end 2024, up 32.9%; SPY, IVV, and VOO together held more than $1.8 trillion<sup>[7](https://tpicap.com/burtontaylor/sites/g/files/escbpb181/files/burton-taylor/reports/2025-04/Index%20Industry%20Benchmark%20Report%20-%20Burton%20Taylor_2025_FULL%20YEAR%202024_1.pdf)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[8](https://investorfactbook.spglobal.com/sp-dow-jones-indices/etfs-and-exchange-traded-derivatives/)</sup> |
| Leadership | Catherine Clay appointed CEO effective November 1, 2025, replacing Dan Draper<sup>[9](https://investor.spglobal.com/news-releases/news-details/2025/SP-Dow-Jones-Indices-Announces-Leadership-Succession/default.aspx)</sup> |

## Formation and ownership

The deal that created S&P DJI had two stages. In February 2010, CME Group agreed to take a 90% stake and [Dow Jones & Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/dow-jones-and-company) a 10% stake in a joint venture owning Dow Jones Indexes, which included the Dow Jones Industrial Average and approximately 130,000 index properties; Dow Jones valued its contributed business at $675 million and CME contributed market data services valued at $607.5 million.<sup>[10](https://investor.cmegroup.com/news-releases/news-release-details/cme-group-take-90-percent-stake-joint-venture-owning-dow-jones)</sup> Bloomberg reported this as CME taking control of [News Corp](https://www.edgepedia.org/news-corp).'s stock-index business, owner of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, to bolster revenue by licensing equity benchmarks.<sup>[11](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-07-02/mcgraw-hill-cme-group-start-s-p-dow-jones-indices-venture-1-)</sup> [Ownership](https://www.edgepedia.org/ownership) of the Dow Jones brand itself stayed with Dow Jones, and the managing editor of The Wall Street Journal continued to participate in decisions on DJIA constituent selection.<sup>[10](https://investor.cmegroup.com/news-releases/news-release-details/cme-group-take-90-percent-stake-joint-venture-owning-dow-jones)</sup>

**The 2011 agreement.** On November 4, 2011, McGraw-Hill and CME Group announced the combination: McGraw-Hill would contribute S&P Indices and the CME/Dow Jones venture would contribute Dow Jones Indexes, creating a business with annual revenue of more than $400 million and approximately $6 trillion in assets benchmarked to its indices.<sup>[3](https://investor.cmegroup.com/static-files/4d4120c5-8e01-43c8-b4f8-d3a6e93514b1)</sup> The U.S. Department of Justice antitrust review was completed by June 14, 2012, and the limited liability company agreement was made as of June 29, 2012.<sup>[4](https://investor.spglobal.com/news-releases/news-details/2012/The-McGraw-Hill-Companies-and-CME-Group-Announce-U.S.-Department-of-Justice-Antitrust-Review-Has-Been-Completed-for-New-SP-Dow-Jones-Indices-Joint-Venture-2012-6-14/default.aspx)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64040/000089882212000311/exhibit992.htm)</sup>

The two launch documents state the ownership split differently: the press release gives McGraw-Hill 73%, CME Group 24.4% through its affiliates, and Dow Jones & Company indirectly 2.6%, while the LLC agreement records parent aggregate interests of 73% for McGraw-Hill and 27% for CME Group.<sup>[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64040/000089882212000311/exhibit991.htm)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64040/000089882212000311/exhibit992.htm)</sup> The new company was placed within McGraw-Hill Financial, the successor to The McGraw-Hill Companies after its separation into two public companies.<sup>[1](https://investor.spglobal.com/news-releases/news-details/2012/The-McGraw-Hill-Companies-CME-Group-Announce-the-Launch-of-SP-Dow-Jones-Indices-2012-7-2/default.aspx)</sup>

## How the indices are built

S&P's U.S. indices are a family of equity indices measuring U.S.-domiciled stocks trading on U.S. exchanges, spanning size, sector, and style indices. They are weighted by float-adjusted market capitalization, meaning each company's weight reflects only shares available for public trading, with equal-weighted and capped variants also offered.<sup>[12](https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/documents/methodologies/methodology-sp-us-indices.pdf)</sup> The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average are both designed to track U.S. large-cap companies but differ in construction methodology.<sup>[13](https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/documents/education/education-comparing-iconic-indices-the-sp-500-and-djia.pdf)</sup>

**S&P 500 eligibility.** As of March 2024, inclusion criteria included U.S. domicile, SEC reporting compliance, a primary U.S. listing, and a market capitalization of at least $15.8 billion, with a float-adjusted market capitalization at least 50% of that amount. Selection is not purely mechanical: the committee's sector balancing creates about 1% non-overlap with a purely cap-weighted top-500 portfolio.<sup>[14](https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1286&context=wmblr)</sup> The DJIA's constituent choices likewise involve editorial judgment, through the Wall Street Journal managing editor's continuing role.<sup>[10](https://investor.cmegroup.com/news-releases/news-release-details/cme-group-take-90-percent-stake-joint-venture-owning-dow-jones)</sup>

## Business model and revenue

An index provider earns money by licensing its benchmarks. Asset-based fees scale with the assets in ETFs and index funds tracking the indices; subscriptions cover data and analytics; and derivatives licensing covers futures and options written on the indices. Asset-based fees accounted for 51.5% of global index revenues in 2024, and S&P DJI led with $1.05 billion in asset-based fee revenue, 31.7% of the industry total, up 21.8% year over year.<sup>[7](https://tpicap.com/burtontaylor/sites/g/files/escbpb181/files/burton-taylor/reports/2025-04/Index%20Industry%20Benchmark%20Report%20-%20Burton%20Taylor_2025_FULL%20YEAR%202024_1.pdf)</sup>

**The CME profit share.** The 2011 license agreement changed S&P Indices' relationship with CME Group from a transactional fee-per-trade model to a partnership in which S&P participates in the profits of CME Group's equity index product complex, extending CME's exclusive E-mini rights.<sup>[3](https://investor.cmegroup.com/static-files/4d4120c5-8e01-43c8-b4f8-d3a6e93514b1)</sup> CME Group pays S&P DJI a share of the profits of that complex, covering futures, swaps, and options.<sup>[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64040/000089882212000311/exhibit991.htm)</sup>

The revenue trajectory shows how fast the business grew: $421 million in 2011 before its 2012 launch<sup>[2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64040/000089882212000311/exhibit991.htm)</sup> to $1.63 billion in 2024, a five-year compound annual growth rate of 10.5%, with nearly 1,600 linked ETFs.<sup>[7](https://tpicap.com/burtontaylor/sites/g/files/escbpb181/files/burton-taylor/reports/2025-04/Index%20Industry%20Benchmark%20Report%20-%20Burton%20Taylor_2025_FULL%20YEAR%202024_1.pdf)</sup> Industry-wide, index providers generated more than $6.5 billion in revenue in 2023 with profit margins of roughly 60 to 70%.<sup>[14](https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1286&context=wmblr)</sup> The S&P 500 alone is tracked by over $4 trillion, generating licensing fees of hundreds of millions of dollars per year for S&P.<sup>[14](https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1286&context=wmblr)</sup>

## Market share and rivals

The index industry is concentrated among a few providers. By 2017, S&P DJI, MSCI, and FTSE Russell each accounted for about 26% of global index industry revenues, and together with Stoxx and Nasdaq at 5% each they held almost 90% of the market.<sup>[15](https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/130514/7/WRAP-Steering-capital-growing-private-authority-Petry-2019.pdf)</sup> In 2022, global index revenues rose 5.9% to a record $5.33 billion, with FTSE Russell, S&P DJI, and MSCI accounting for more than two-thirds of the total, while ETF assets under management declined 4.6% to $9.552 trillion.<sup>[16](https://tpicap.com/tpicap/sites/g/files/escbpb106/files/2023-04/2023%20Index%20Report%20Press%20Release.pdf)</sup>

In 2024 the industry reached a record $6.4 billion in revenue, up 12.8%. S&P DJI held 25.4% of revenues and MSCI 24.9%, with LSEG FTSE Russell third at 17.9%; the big three owned 68.1% of market share but lost 95 basis points as Nasdaq gained.<sup>[7](https://tpicap.com/burtontaylor/sites/g/files/escbpb181/files/burton-taylor/reports/2025-04/Index%20Industry%20Benchmark%20Report%20-%20Burton%20Taylor_2025_FULL%20YEAR%202024_1.pdf)</sup> The Financial Times has reported that the four leading providers, S&P DJI, MSCI, FTSE Russell, and Bloomberg, face growing competition from smaller providers and from asset managers taking benchmarking in-house.<sup>[17](https://www.ft.com/content/96408df0-911a-11e9-8ff4-699df1c62544)</sup> Bloomberg's own index revenue rose to $200 million with $1.3 trillion in linked ETF assets.<sup>[7](https://tpicap.com/burtontaylor/sites/g/files/escbpb181/files/burton-taylor/reports/2025-04/Index%20Industry%20Benchmark%20Report%20-%20Burton%20Taylor_2025_FULL%20YEAR%202024_1.pdf)</sup>

## The index effect and active versus passive

Being added to the S&P 500 once moved prices sharply. The abnormal return associated with an addition fell from an average of 7.4% in the 1990s to less than 1% over the decade to 2020, and deletions, which carried large negative abnormal returns in the 1990s, averaged only 0.1% between 2010 and 2020. The decline occurred despite a significant increase in the share of stock market assets linked to the index, and a similar decline appears across other index families.<sup>[18](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jofi.13410)</sup> A study of 1997–2017 inclusions found that the positive announcement effect had disappeared and the long-run impact of inclusion had turned negative, with return on assets falling after inclusion.<sup>[19](https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w27593/w27593.pdf)</sup>

On active management, a majority of large-cap U.S. equity funds failed to beat the S&P 500 every year from 2020 through 2023, extending a streak that began well before 2020.<sup>[14](https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1286&context=wmblr)</sup>

## Controversies

**Discretion in selection.** Research on S&P 500 membership decisions shows a nontrivial amount of discretion unexplained by the published methodology, and firms' purchases of S&P ratings appear to improve their chance of entering the index, while purchases of Moody's ratings do not.<sup>[20](https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/mnsc.2024.08157)</sup> Tesla was added to the index only after rising over 700% from an S&P 500-eligible market capitalization one year before its addition, an episode often cited in disputes over inclusion timing.<sup>[14](https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1286&context=wmblr)</sup>

**Fee markups.** Over one-third of ETF expense ratios are paid as licensing fees to index providers, and a structural decomposition attributes 60% of those licensing fees to providers' markups; counterfactual analysis suggests improved competition among index providers would reduce ETF expense ratios by up to 30%.<sup>[21](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304405X23001174)</sup> The 2012 joint venture itself was subject to a Department of Justice antitrust review before closing.<sup>[4](https://investor.spglobal.com/news-releases/news-details/2012/The-McGraw-Hill-Companies-and-CME-Group-Announce-U.S.-Department-of-Justice-Antitrust-Review-Has-Been-Completed-for-New-SP-Dow-Jones-Indices-Joint-Venture-2012-6-14/default.aspx)</sup>

## Recent developments

**Record revenue and renewed leadership.** S&P DJI's 2024 revenue of $1.63 billion returned it to first place in index revenues, and assets in its linked ETFs grew 32.9% to $4.4 trillion at year-end 2024.<sup>[7](https://tpicap.com/burtontaylor/sites/g/files/escbpb181/files/burton-taylor/reports/2025-04/Index%20Industry%20Benchmark%20Report%20-%20Burton%20Taylor_2025_FULL%20YEAR%202024_1.pdf)</sup> The three S&P 500 ETFs SPY, IVV, and VOO, the first of which launched in January 1993 as the first U.S.-listed ETF, together held more than $1.8 trillion for the year ending 2024.<sup>[8](https://investorfactbook.spglobal.com/sp-dow-jones-indices/etfs-and-exchange-traded-derivatives/)</sup>

**New products and leadership change.** On December 4, 2024, S&P DJI and UBS launched the S&P UBS Leveraged Loan Indices, a rebranding of the legacy Credit Suisse Leveraged Loan Indices spanning more than 2,000 indices covering USD 1.6 trillion in market value, with S&P DJI's iBoxx USD Leveraged Loan Indices to be folded in during 2025.<sup>[22](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sp-dow-jones-indices-and-ubs-launch-sp-ubs-leveraged-loan-indices-302322154.html)</sup> Catherine Clay was appointed CEO effective November 1, 2025, replacing Dan Draper, who remains as a Special Advisor.<sup>[9](https://investor.spglobal.com/news-releases/news-details/2025/SP-Dow-Jones-Indices-Announces-Leadership-Succession/default.aspx)</sup>

**ESG is a small and slower-growing line.** ESG index revenue grew 9.7% in 2024 to 5.9% of global index revenue, with MSCI holding the highest ESG share at 29.4%; S&P DJI's ESG revenue was $22.8 million against $1,449 million in traditional equity.<sup>[7](https://tpicap.com/burtontaylor/sites/g/files/escbpb181/files/burton-taylor/reports/2025-04/Index%20Industry%20Benchmark%20Report%20-%20Burton%20Taylor_2025_FULL%20YEAR%202024_1.pdf)</sup>

One measurement caveat applies to headline scale figures. The law review figure of over $4 trillion tracking the S&P 500 refers to assets generating licensing fees, while S&P DJI's own survey estimates $20 trillion indexed or benchmarked to the S&P 500, of which $13 trillion is passively managed; the two figures use different definitions of "linked" assets and are not directly comparable.<sup>[14](https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1286&context=wmblr)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[6](https://investorfactbook.spglobal.com/sp-dow-jones-indices/sp-dow-jones-indices-annual-survey-of-assets/)</sup>

## References

1. [The McGraw-Hill Companies, CME Group Announce the Launch of S&P Dow Jones Indices (July 2, 2012), S&P Global IR](https://investor.spglobal.com/news-releases/news-details/2012/The-McGraw-Hill-Companies-CME-Group-Announce-the-Launch-of-SP-Dow-Jones-Indices-2012-7-2/default.aspx)
2. [Press release: Launch of S&P Dow Jones Indices, SEC Exhibit 99.1 (July 2, 2012)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64040/000089882212000311/exhibit991.htm)
3. [McGraw-Hill and CME Group to Partner in Index Services Business (November 4, 2011), CME Group IR](https://investor.cmegroup.com/static-files/4d4120c5-8e01-43c8-b4f8-d3a6e93514b1)
4. [DOJ Antitrust Review Completed for New S&P Dow Jones Indices Joint Venture (June 14, 2012), S&P Global IR](https://investor.spglobal.com/news-releases/news-details/2012/The-McGraw-Hill-Companies-and-CME-Group-Announce-U.S.-Department-of-Justice-Antitrust-Review-Has-Been-Completed-for-New-SP-Dow-Jones-Indices-Joint-Venture-2012-6-14/default.aspx)
5. [Limited Liability Company Agreement of S&P/Dow Jones Indices LLC, SEC Exhibit 99.2](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/64040/000089882212000311/exhibit992.htm)
6. [S&P DJI Annual Survey of Assets, S&P Global Investor Factbook](https://investorfactbook.spglobal.com/sp-dow-jones-indices/sp-dow-jones-indices-annual-survey-of-assets/)
7. [Index Industry Benchmark Report, Full Year 2024, Burton-Taylor](https://tpicap.com/burtontaylor/sites/g/files/escbpb181/files/burton-taylor/reports/2025-04/Index%20Industry%20Benchmark%20Report%20-%20Burton%20Taylor_2025_FULL%20YEAR%202024_1.pdf)
8. [S&P DJI: ETFs and Exchange-Traded Derivatives, S&P Global Investor Factbook](https://investorfactbook.spglobal.com/sp-dow-jones-indices/etfs-and-exchange-traded-derivatives/)
9. [S&P Dow Jones Indices Announces Leadership Succession (October 2, 2025), S&P Global IR](https://investor.spglobal.com/news-releases/news-details/2025/SP-Dow-Jones-Indices-Announces-Leadership-Succession/default.aspx)
10. [CME Group to Take 90 Percent Stake in Joint Venture Owning Dow Jones Indexes Business (February 10, 2010), CME Group IR](https://investor.cmegroup.com/news-releases/news-release-details/cme-group-take-90-percent-stake-joint-venture-owning-dow-jones)
11. [McGraw-Hill, CME Group Start S&P Dow Jones Indices Venture, Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-07-02/mcgraw-hill-cme-group-start-s-p-dow-jones-indices-venture-1-)
12. [S&P U.S. Indices Methodology, S&P DJI](https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/documents/methodologies/methodology-sp-us-indices.pdf)
13. [Comparing Iconic Indices: The S&P 500 and DJIA, S&P DJI](https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/documents/education/education-comparing-iconic-indices-the-sp-500-and-djia.pdf)
14. [Can You Take Me Higher? How the Big Three Benefit from the Dominance of Index Providers, William & Mary Business Law Review](https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1286&context=wmblr)
15. [Steering capital: the growing private authority of index providers, Review of International Political Economy](https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/130514/7/WRAP-Steering-capital-growing-private-authority-Petry-2019.pdf)
16. [Burton-Taylor 2023 Index Report Press Release (2022 data)](https://tpicap.com/tpicap/sites/g/files/escbpb106/files/2023-04/2023%20Index%20Report%20Press%20Release.pdf)
17. [Leading index providers maintain grip as ETF margins fall, Financial Times](https://www.ft.com/content/96408df0-911a-11e9-8ff4-699df1c62544)
18. [The Disappearing Index Effect, Journal of Finance (Greenwood & Shleifer)](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jofi.13410)
19. [Does Joining the S&P 500 Index Hurt Firms? NBER Working Paper 27593](https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w27593/w27593.pdf)
20. [Credit Rating Purchases and S&P 500 Index Membership Decisions, Management Science](https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/mnsc.2024.08157)
21. [Index providers: Whales behind the scenes of ETFs, Journal of Financial Economics](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304405X23001174)
22. [S&P DJI and UBS Launch S&P UBS Leveraged Loan Indices (December 4, 2024), PR Newswire](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sp-dow-jones-indices-and-ubs-launch-sp-ubs-leveraged-loan-indices-302322154.html)

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*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 10, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 10, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 10, 2026*

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