Vanguard's S&P 500 index fund changed how we invest — but there may be a smarter way to get a piece of the market
An ASU finance expert's research investigates whether equal-weight or value-based index funds are a better investment.
In this article published Sept. 1, 2026, on MarketWatch:
According to research by Hendrik Bessembinder, professor of business and finance at Arizona State University's W. P. Carey School of Business, over the 55-year period from 1971 through 2025, an equal-weight strategy beat the traditional value-based index approach by an average of 1.3 percentage points a year, or 12.6% to 11.3%. As the proponents of index funds repeatedly argue, such differences really make a big difference over time.
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