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The Dow Jones Industrial Average isn’t considered the most accurate reflection of the market’s overall performance, but few can argue against the fact that it is the most widely recognized and highly symbolic representation of the state of American stocks.
Outside of the large-cap, old-line American companies among the Dow Jones Industrials, there are more than 10,000 publicly traded stocks from which investors can pick and choose. But Dow component companies carry the panache of selling a “blue-chip” stock investors might regard as part of an elite grouping worthy of their money.
Since Charles Dow introduced his 12-stock industrial index in 1896 to accompany The Wall Street Journal‘s transportation index, about four-dozen adjustments have been made, including the expansion to a roster of 30 in 1928. Most…
