JT, good work, you're mounting a better argument than spitzer, but, you're still forgetting dividends, and the fact that the dow is a collection of large companies operating in saturated markets. They grow at about the same pace as the overall economy, and thus investing in the dow is not a way to beat the market. So, the return on the dow is higher than just a calculation of the index, and with a little research, a person can beat the dow most years.