By Caitlin McCabe
Investors beware: We could begin seeing big divergences in major indexes in the coming weeks.
That's the message one ETF analyst is sharing after S&P Dow Jones Indices said yesterday it won't fast-track the inclusion of SpaceX and other big IPOs into the S&P 500.
"This could create significant return dispersion [between] 'passive' indexes. Choose wisely," wrote Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
S&P's decision contrasts with rivals who eased rules in recent weeks to allow newly listed companies to join indexes sooner than usual. Mega-cap companies like SpaceX can now be included in the Nasdaq-100 just 15 days after trading, down from at least three months previously. FTSE Russell changed its rules to allow for inclusion in its indexes after five days.
But for S&P 500 inclusion, firms like SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI are staring down a much longer timeline-at least a year.
That deviation will have big implications for ETFs and other funds that track major indexes, which will be forced to sell down other positions to make room for SpaceX and other newly listed stocks. Funds that track the Nasdaq-100, for example, will now have to start doing that much more quickly.
And depending on these newly listed stocks perform, that could lead to big return divergences. Here's more from Balchunas:
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 05, 2026 07:45 ET (11:45 GMT)
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