S&p ratings from highest to lowest?
'AAA' is the highest issuer credit rating assigned by S&P Global Ratings. An obligor rated 'AA' has very strong capacity to meet its financial commitments. It differs from the highest-rated obligors only to a small degree.
| AAA | AA+ | BBB+ |
|---|---|---|
| BB+ | BB | CCC |
'AAA' is the highest issuer credit rating assigned by S&P Global Ratings. An obligor rated 'AA' has very strong capacity to meet its financial commitments. It differs from the highest-rated obligors only to a small degree.
How the S&P Ratings Scale Works. The company's short-term ratings include six grades, ranging from A-1 (the highest) to D (the lowest).
- Investment Grade: AAA, AA, A, BBB (from best quality to good quality but somewhat vulnerable to changing economic conditions).
- Non-Investment Grade (also referred to as Junk): BB, B, CCC, CC, C (speculative; from the least degree of speculation to the highest degree); D (in payment default).
- Technology.
- Health Care.
- Financials.
- Real Estate.
- Energy.
- Materials.
- Consumer Discretionary.
- Industrials.
The S&P 500 could approach or exceed the 10,000 level by the early to mid-2030s. Many investors take it as a given that—since returns on the S&P 500 have been strong for 10-plus years—stocks are expensive and over-owned.
S&P 500 could hit 5000 by December 2022: Advisor.
All holdings in the S&P500 are US-listed companies, whereas the Global 100 Index can offer exposure to companies not listed in the United States.
Junk bonds are generally rated BB[+] or lower by Standard & Poor's and Ba[1] or lower by Moody's. The rating indicates the likelihood that the bond issuer will default on the debt. A high-yield bond fund is one option for an investor interested in junk bonds but wary of picking them individually.
Is S&P the safest stock?
History shows us that investing in an S&P 500 index fund -- a fund that tracks the S&P 500's performance as closely as possible -- is remarkably safe, regardless of timing. The S&P 500 has never produced a loss over a 20-year holding period.
A-/A3 are medium investment grade credit ratings offered by Moody's and Standard & Poor's. Both ratings signify that the issuer has financial backing and some cash reserves with a low risk of default. A-/A3 is the seventh-highest rating a debt issuer can receive and is four rankings above the cutoff for junk bonds.
The order of the 11 sectors based on size is as follows: Information Technology, Health Care, Financials, Consumer Discretionary, Communication Services, Industrials, Consumer Staples, Energy, Utilities, Real Estate, and Materials.
B1/B+ are ratings just below investment grade but are the highest rating in the non-investment grade bracket. Moody's Investors Service uses B1, while S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings use B+.
The S&P 500 stock market index is maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices. It comprises 503 common stocks which are issued by 500 large-cap companies traded on American stock exchanges (including the 30 companies that compose the Dow Jones Industrial Average).
S&P Global ESG Scores are measured on a scale of 0 – 100, where 100 represents the maximum score.
The S&P Global 100 offers roughly 73% exposure to US-listed companies, plus an 18% allocation to Europe, 7% to United Kingdom and 2% to Asia/Australia (as of 30 September 2021).
S&P Global Ratings has created the ESG Risk Atlas to provide a view of relative environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks we see around the world. The Atlas, which takes the form of an online infographic, reflects our observations about various ESG risks that different sectors and geographies face.
S&P Global ESG Scores are a sophisticated measure of corporate sustainability performance designed for companies, investors and other stakeholders to address critical ESG risks and opportunities.
| Rank | Company | ESG Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft | 76.30 |
| 2 | Linde | 76.00 |
| 3 | Accenture | 75.95 |
| 4 | J.B. Hunt | 74.14 |
What is the S&P 500 ESG index vs S&P 500?
The S&P 500 ESG Index seeks to reflect many of the attributes of the S&P 500 itself, while providing an improved sustainability profile as a result of an updated ESG score. Underweighting the lowest ESG-scoring constituents contributed the most to the S&P 500 ESG Index's outperformance.
In addition to CDP and ISS-ESG, other ESG ratings most frequently cited by corporates and investors for quality and usefulness are Sustainalytics, MSCI, EcoVadis, and Bloomberg.
The S&P 500 is maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices, a joint venture majority-owned by S&P Global, and its components are selected by a committee. The average annualized return since its inception in 1928 through December 31, 2021, is 11.82%.
Nasdaq 100 has significantly outperformed S&P 500 in terms of performance. Over the past 15 years, Nasdaq 100 has delivered a CAGR of around 16%, while S&P 500 has returned about 8%.
Average Market Return for the Last 30 Years
Looking at the S&P 500 for the years 1992 to 2021, the average stock market return for the last 30 years is 9.89% (7.31% when adjusted for inflation).
Sibarium's article pointed out that S&P Global's latest ESG rankings gave EV maker Tesla a score of 37 – and tobacco giant Philip Morris an 84.
Many investors admit they do not use ESG ratings directly to make investment decisions. Often they serve as the source of base data, used by investors to perform research, develop KPIs or scores that underlie their own assessment.
| (315 Total Components) | 5-Day | 52-Week |
|---|---|---|
| Today's New Highs (% of total) | 203 (64%) | 35 (11%) |
| Today's New Lows (% of total) | 3 (1%) | 0 (0%) |
| Difference | 200 | 35 |
In 2022, the S&P 500 declined by 19.44%, while the MSCI USA Extended ESG Select Index declined by 21.12%. This does not mean all ESG investments outperform the stock market. There are mixed results when looking at a few mutual and exchange-traded funds.
