# Equal-weight vs cap-weight | PIER20 benchmarks Is market breadth narrowing, or is the average stock beating the giants? The equal-weight vs cap-weight benchmark compares the S&P 500 equal-weight ETF (RSP) with the S&P 500 cap-weight ETF (SPY), both rebased to 100 at their shared start. Because both hold the same 500 companies, the spread isolates the weighting effect alone: an RSP line above SPY means the average stock is beating the largest constituents, a sign of broad market participation rather than mega-cap concentration. As of **11 Aug 2026**, the Equal-weight S&P 500 (RSP) line stands at **1238.6** and the Cap-weight S&P 500 (SPY) line at **1283.6** (both base = 100 at the shared start). The Equal-weight S&P 500 (RSP) line is up 23.0% over the past year and above its long-run median of 353.0. ## Summary statistics (full history) | Series | First | Latest | Min | Max | |---|---|---|---|---| | Equal-weight S&P 500 (RSP) | 100.0 | 1238.6 | 86.6 | 1238.6 | | Cap-weight S&P 500 (SPY) | 100.0 | 1283.6 | 82.6 | 1286.4 | ## Last 24 readings | Date | Equal-weight S&P 500 (RSP) | Cap-weight S&P 500 (SPY) | |---|---|---| | Jul 2026 | 1196.9 | 1250.5 | | Jul 2026 | 1201.4 | 1255.9 | | Jul 2026 | 1201.0 | 1246.3 | | Jul 2026 | 1196.6 | 1250.7 | | Jul 2026 | 1193.9 | 1255.7 | | Jul 2026 | 1205.7 | 1248.9 | | Jul 2026 | 1196.2 | 1236.5 | | Jul 2026 | 1190.9 | 1234.5 | | Jul 2026 | 1192.8 | 1244.8 | | Jul 2026 | 1192.4 | 1243.4 | | Jul 2026 | 1188.0 | 1228.0 | | Jul 2026 | 1197.3 | 1229.3 | | Jul 2026 | 1206.3 | 1229.5 | | Jul 2026 | 1220.4 | 1232.5 | | Jul 2026 | 1209.4 | 1213.5 | | Jul 2026 | 1207.4 | 1233.9 | | Jul 2026 | 1205.4 | 1242.7 | | Aug 2026 | 1217.1 | 1260.4 | | Aug 2026 | 1234.6 | 1283.2 | | Aug 2026 | 1231.8 | 1280.6 | | Aug 2026 | 1225.4 | 1278.6 | | Aug 2026 | 1233.9 | 1286.4 | | Aug 2026 | 1234.6 | 1286.0 | | Aug 2026 | 1238.6 | 1283.6 | ## How to read this benchmark **What a positive or negative spread means.** When RSP runs above SPY, the average S&P 500 member is beating the index's largest weights, which historically signals broad participation and a healthy internal market. When SPY leads, returns are concentrated in the mega-caps that dominate the cap-weighted index, the dominant pattern through the 2010s and 2020s tech-leadership era. The current spread is negative but narrow. **Why equal-weight and cap-weight of the same index.** RSP and SPY hold identical constituents (the S&P 500) but weight them differently: SPY by market capitalisation, which concentrates in the largest names; RSP equally, which gives every member a fixed 0.2% weight. Comparing the two isolates the pure weighting effect with no sector or size noise, making this the cleanest possible measure of how concentrated index leadership is. **Limitations.** Equal-weighting tilts toward smaller-cap and more cyclical names within the S&P 500, so RSP outperformance overlaps with small-cap and value outperformance and is not a pure 'concentration' measure. RSP also has higher turnover and transaction costs from quarterly rebalancing. The window begins in May 2003, missing the late-1990s cap-weighted concentration peak. Treat the chart as context for market breadth, not investment advice. **Historical extremes.** On the rebased scale (100 at May 2003), RSP has risen to roughly 1,188 while SPY sits near 1,228, so cap-weight leads by roughly 3 percentage points over the full window despite the average stock having led for much of the post-crisis recovery. Cap-weight pulled ahead decisively after 2017 as mega-cap technology came to dominate the S&P 500, and the spread has remained narrow but negative through the AI-driven rally. ## How this benchmark is used **Market breadth and concentration diagnosis.** Strategists and market technicians use the equal-cap spread as the definitive gauge of internal market breadth. A widening cap-weight lead signals narrow mega-cap leadership and weak breadth, the condition that preceded the 2000-2002 and 2022 drawdowns; a widening equal-weight lead signals healthy broad participation. **Active-management opportunity assessment.** Active large-cap managers typically outperform the cap-weighted S&P 500 during equal-weight leadership, because their diversified portfolios behave more like RSP than SPY. Performance consultants use the spread to explain active-versus-passive tracking and to identify regimes where active management has a structural tailwind. **Mega-cap tech concentration risk monitoring.** Risk managers and allocators use the spread, alongside the Nasdaq-vs-broad-market benchmark, to gauge how exposed the S&P 500 is to a handful of mega-cap technology names. A sustained negative spread with widening Nasdaq leadership is the standard signature of concentration risk building in passive cap-weighted exposure. ## Frequently asked questions **What is the current equal-weight vs cap-weight?** As of 11 Aug 2026, the Equal-weight S&P 500 (RSP) line stands at 1238.6 and the Cap-weight S&P 500 (SPY) line at 1283.6 (both base = 100 at the shared start). The Equal-weight S&P 500 (RSP) line is up 23.0% over the past year and above its long-run median of 353.0. **How often is this benchmark updated?** This benchmark is built on daily data. The page is refreshed when the source publishes new observations; the freshness block below the chart shows the exact data-through date and when PIER20 last fetched the file. **What data sources does this chart use?** The chart is built from Equal-weight S&P 500 (RSP) and Cap-weight S&P 500 (SPY), sourced from Yahoo Finance. **Has the average stock beaten the largest stocks over this window?** No, narrowly. Since May 2003 the RSP line has risen to roughly 1,188 while the SPY line sits near 1,228, so cap-weight leads equal-weight by roughly 3 percentage points. The average stock led for much of the post-crisis recovery, but cap-weight pulled ahead decisively after 2017 as mega-cap technology came to dominate the S&P 500. **What does the equal minus cap spread mean?** The summary callout measures how much the RSP line has outperformed (positive) or underperformed (negative) the SPY line over the selected window, expressed as a percentage. A positive reading means the average S&P 500 stock is beating the index's largest weights; a negative reading means mega-cap concentration is doing the work. **Why do RSP and SPY hold the same stocks but perform differently?** Both ETFs hold the 500 S&P constituents, but SPY weights them by market cap, so Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia and the other mega-caps dominate. RSP gives every constituent a fixed equal weight, so a 1% move in a small S&P member moves the index as much as a 1% move in Apple. When mega-caps outperform the average, SPY beats RSP even though they hold the same names. **How is this different from large caps vs small caps?** Large vs small compares two different index universes (S&P 500 vs Russell 2000), isolating the size factor across different constituent sets. Equal vs cap compares two different weightings of the same S&P 500 constituents, isolating intra-index concentration. The two can diverge: equal-weight can beat cap-weight even when large caps beat small caps, if the average large cap is beating its own mega-caps. ## Methodology - Formula: RSP and SPY adjusted close indexed to 100 at the shared start - Frequency: Daily - Sources: Equal-weight S&P 500 (RSP) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/RSP; Cap-weight S&P 500 (SPY) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SPY. Data via Yahoo Finance. - Data through: 11 Aug 2026 - Last refreshed: 11 Aug 2026 ## Related benchmarks - [US vs international equities](https://pier20.com/benchmarks/us-vs-international) - [Large caps vs small caps](https://pier20.com/benchmarks/large-vs-small-cap) - [Growth vs value](https://pier20.com/benchmarks/growth-vs-value) - [Nasdaq-100 vs broad market](https://pier20.com/benchmarks/nasdaq-vs-broad-market) Full interactive chart: https://pier20.com/benchmarks/equal-vs-cap-weight Disclaimer: research software output, not investment advice.