The S&P 500 was up +9.3% YTD (total return) through 6/30/17, making it 8 consecutive months of gains (and 15 of
the last 16 months) by the $22 trillion index. The last time the S&P 500 was up in each of the first 6 months of a calendar year was
1996 (21 years ago), a full year that produced 10 of 12 “up” months and a +23.0% gain for the entire year (source: BTN Research).
Standard&Poor's 500® consists of 500 US stocks chosen for market size, liquidity, and industry group representation. It is a market-value weighted index, with each stock's weight in the index proportionate to market value. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.