Historical Returns for the S&P 400 Midcap Index (Updated Through 2009)

The S&P 400 Midcap Index is the most widely-followed of all U.S. Midcap stock market indices. Midcap stocks are generally defined as those of companies with market capitalizations between $1 billion and $10 billion. ("Market capitalization" refers to the value of outstanding shares of a particular stock.")

The S&P 400 Midcap Index was introduced in June 1991 by Standard & Poors to track the performance of U.S. mid cap stocks. I have previously posted charts with annual returns through 2007 and 2008. I have updated the chart below to include returns from 1992-2009.

As shown, the S&P 400 Midcap Index rebounded strongly from an awful year in 2008, returning 37.38%. The calendar year returns in 2009 were the strongest in the history of the S&P 400 Index. As a result of the strong 2009 returns, the annalized returns of the Index from 1992-2009 rose to 10.89% and the 5-year annualized returns rose to 3.27%. The total returns (including reinvested dividends) between January 1, 1992 and December 31, 2009 were an impressive 542.72%.

The chart below also shows five year annualized returns, starting with the fifth full calendar year of the existence of the S&P 400 Midcap Index (i.e., 1996). As shown, the highest annualized five-year return was 23.05% (between 1995 and 1999) and the lowest was -0.08% (between 2004 and 2008).

I am a big fan of midcap stocks and firmly believe that any long-term investor should seriously consider investing money in midcap stocks, such as those tracking the S&P 400 Midcap Index (e.g., the Midcap SPDR ETF (symbol: MDY) tracks the S&P 400 Midcap Index). Midcaps tend to provide higher returns over time than large cap stocks, such as those comprising the S&P 500 Index, although such stocks are generally more volatile over shorter time periods.


I have posted an updated chart for the period between 1992-2010.