Darim AbdullahGuest
Zayla SaundersHost
Hilly CutlerHost
Let's start with the big picture and the why now question, because that's always where we should begin.

With concentration risk sitting at these elevated levels, as we mentioned, more than a third of the S&P 500 index is weighted in the top 10 names.

So when we think about managing concentration risk, do you see that becoming more of a priority in your discussion with clients?

You know, concentration has always existed in market cap weighted indices, specifically when it comes to the Canadian and US equity markets.

So the larger the company becomes, it could have larger weights in the index, and so does its contribution to the return and risk of the overall index.

But I think what feels different today is the magnitude of that concentration, and more importantly, how much that concentration now influences both portfolio returns and portfolio risk.

And if we look at the S&P 500 index, like you've said, which we could use it as a representation of the U.S. equity market, we saw that the concentration of the top 10 names moved close to 40% last year, which was one of the highest levels we've seen in decades.

Now, it did moderate a bit since then, but still hovering around the 36%, 37% range, which is well above the long-term average and even above levels we've experienced during the dot-com bubble era, which was around 30%.

So by all measures, we're looking at high levels when it comes to stock concentration.

Now, when we look at technology and communication services sectors, this is where many of these mega cap companies sit.

Together right now, they represent over 45%, which effectively means that the index has become increasingly sensitive to a narrower set of stocks and sectors as well.

Let's peel back what's really driving contribution to risk by providing an example from the MAG7.

How should investors think about the tradeoff between benefiting from mega cap leadership, as mentioned, large cap growth, you know, really drove markets again in May and being overly reliant on it?

I mean, it's been one of the best performing, magnificent seven names over the past few years.

So it's clearly been a company that has created tremendous amount of wealth for investors.

But at the same time, when we look at its weight, we can see that it has also increased dramatically from 1% over a couple of years ago to becoming one of the largest names right now with the weight that is near 8% or so.

Let's start with the big picture and the why now question, because that's always where we should begin.

With concentration risk sitting at these elevated levels, as we mentioned, more than a third of the S&P 500 index is weighted in the top 10 names.

So when we think about managing concentration risk, do you see that becoming more of a priority in your discussion with clients?

You know, concentration has always existed in market cap weighted indices, specifically when it comes to the Canadian and US equity markets.

So the larger the company becomes, it could have larger weights in the index, and so does its contribution to the return and risk of the overall index.

But I think what feels different today is the magnitude of that concentration, and more importantly, how much that concentration now influences both portfolio returns and portfolio risk.

And if we look at the S&P 500 index, like you've said, which we could use it as a representation of the U.S. equity market, we saw that the concentration of the top 10 names moved close to 40% last year, which was one of the highest levels we've seen in decades.

Now, it did moderate a bit since then, but still hovering around the 36%, 37% range, which is well above the long-term average and even above levels we've experienced during the dot-com bubble era, which was around 30%.

So by all measures, we're looking at high levels when it comes to stock concentration.

Now, when we look at technology and communication services sectors, this is where many of these mega cap companies sit.

Together right now, they represent over 45%, which effectively means that the index has become increasingly sensitive to a narrower set of stocks and sectors as well.

Let's peel back what's really driving contribution to risk by providing an example from the MAG7.

How should investors think about the tradeoff between benefiting from mega cap leadership, as mentioned, large cap growth, you know, really drove markets again in May and being overly reliant on it?

I mean, it's been one of the best performing, magnificent seven names over the past few years.

So it's clearly been a company that has created tremendous amount of wealth for investors.

But at the same time, when we look at its weight, we can see that it has also increased dramatically from 1% over a couple of years ago to becoming one of the largest names right now with the weight that is near 8% or so.
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