Is the Dow Dead?

The following video is part of our "Talking Stocks" series, in which Motley Fool analyst Austin Smith discusses trends across the investing universe.

In today's edition, Austin talks about the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) and whether it's dead with regard to its original purpose. The Dow is meant to be a quick snapshot of the market and be relatively representative of the universe of security movements. However, the fact that it has only 30 components and is a price-weighted index has thrown it out of whack from a truly illustrative index. Austin compares the Dow with other, broader indices as examples.

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At the time thisarticle was published Austin Smith owns no shares of the companies mentioned above. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America, IBM, Apple, and Google.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Google and Apple and creating a bull call spread position in Apple. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days.

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