How Index Funds Are Adapting to Mega-IPOs

Morning Star

Jul 14

Index providers are bending their rules. Do they have a choice?Nasdaq tweaked its rules to allow Elon Musk’s newly public SpaceX SPCX into its flagship Nasdaq-100 Index after 15 days of trading. FTSE ...

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Do they have a choice?Nasdaq tweaked its rules to allow Elon Musk’s newly public SpaceX SPCX into its flagship Nasdaq-100 Index after 15 days of trading. FTSE ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.morningstar.com/funds/spacex-ipo-how-index-funds-are-adapting\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n","source":"morningstar_fund_highlight","html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>How Index Funds Are Adapting to Mega-IPOs</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nHow Index Funds Are Adapting to Mega-IPOs\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n2026-07-14 00:00 GMT+8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=https://www.morningstar.com/funds/spacex-ipo-how-index-funds-are-adapting><strong>Morning Star</strong></a>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<div>\n<p>Index providers are bending their rules. Do they have a choice?Nasdaq tweaked its rules to allow Elon Musk’s newly public SpaceX SPCX into its flagship Nasdaq-100 Index after 15 days of trading. FTSE ...</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://www.morningstar.com/funds/spacex-ipo-how-index-funds-are-adapting\">Source Link</a>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","isBrief":false,"type":0,"news_type":1,"symbol":"UFO","symbol_name":"Procure Space ETF","start_time":0,"source_url":"https://www.morningstar.com/funds/spacex-ipo-how-index-funds-are-adapting","article_id":"2651348843","we_media_id":null,"thumbnails":["https://media.morningstar.com/resizer/v2/5ZNGYETNWBAZXGKYWVINUPDUFI.jpg?auth=7e19edb49d37d3f8a378fa8cde1a01a6b1a4048912fc42f7cbdd1652577e0464&quality=80&height=2400&width=2400&crop=525,0:1350,1350"],"rights":{"source":"morningstar_fund_highlight","url":"https://www.morningstar.com/funds/spacex-ipo-how-index-funds-are-adapting","rn_cache_url":null,"directOrigin":true},"url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=2651348843","pubTimestamp":1783958400,"columns":[],"sourceInfo":{"source_id":"morningstar_fund_highlight","name":"Morning Star"},"weMediaInfo":null,"summary":"Index providers are bending their rules. Do they have a choice?Market participants agreed with this idea in 2017, resulting in FTSE Russell’s introduction of a minimum 5% voting rights rule for its broad market index constituents. S&P also adopted a similar policy that year, requiring that new index constituents not offer share classes with different voting rights. The reasoning was that “voting rights in public hands were important to shareholder governance.” Few notable companies ever ran afoul of these requirements, so they were mostly an afterthought. Until now. The extremely founder-friendly ownership structures of SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic could have made these firms ineligible for broad Russell indexes per the voting ri","collect":0,"end_time":0,"defaultTopTitle":"morningstar.com","property":[],"viewcount":null,"language":"en","relate_stocks":{"UFO":"Procure Space ETF","SPAL":"2倍做多Space X ETF-GraniteShares","SPCF":"2倍做多SpaceX ETF-ProShares","XOVR":"ERShares Private-Public Crossover ETF","SPCG":"2倍做空SpaceX ETF-Tradr","BK4615":"SpaceX概念","KCE":"SPDR KBW Capital Markets ETF","LOFF":"2倍做多SpaceX ETF-Direxion","SPCH":"2倍做多SpaceX ETF-Leverage Shares","SPCX":"SPAC and New Issue ETF","SPAX":"2倍做多SPACEX ETF-T-REX","FRHC":"Euronext CAC Health Care","BK4089":"非传统电信运营商","IPOS":"Renaissance International IPO ETF","IPO":"Renaissance IPO ETF","SPCM":"2倍做多SpaceX ETF-Tradr","SNK":"2倍做空SpaceX ETF-GraniteShares","DXYZ":"Destiny Tech100 Inc","SPCQ":"2倍做空SpaceX ETF-Defiance","BK4127":"投资银行业与经纪业","SSPC":"2倍做空SpaceX ETF-Leverage Shares","SPCU":"2倍做多SpaceX ETF-Defiance"},"translate_title":"指数基金如何适应大型IPO","themeId":null,"isJumpTheme":false,"ttsUrl":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/dc9f9c526cfa19af6733b07f4be8bdac","symbols_score_info":{"SPAX":0.6,"SPCH":0.6,"IPOS":0.79,"XOVR":0.9,"SPCM":0.6,"UFO":0.6,"SPCX":0.9,"KCE":0.79,"SPCF":0.6,"LOFF":0.6,"SNK":0.9,"SPCQ":0.6,"SPCU":0.9,"DXYZ":0.9,"SSPC":0.6,"IPO":0.79,"FRHC":0.79,"SPCG":0.6,"SPAL":0.9},"content_text":"Index providers are bending their rules. Do they have a choice?Nasdaq tweaked its rules to allow Elon Musk’s newly public SpaceX SPCX into its flagship Nasdaq-100 Index after 15 days of trading. FTSE Russell added a fast-entry rule to its suite of US indexes to allow large IPOs into its portfolios after just five days. Morningstar CRSP and S&P Dow Jones both eased float percentage requirements for some stocks, but S&P notably retained its earnings screen and 12-month waiting period.There’s no separating the timing of the changes with the June 12 IPO and the company’s very low float—or shares freely traded. Its 4% float at IPO would have made the space and artificial intelligence company ineligible for most major index funds under old rules. Now, though, most major indexes have opened their gates to SpaceX and other mega-IPOs. It’s a good reminder, too, that not all indexes are the same. The Role of IndexesOn one hand, broad indexes—like those offered from any of the companies previously noted—should accurately represent a broad swath of the stock market. On the other hand, asset managers like Vanguard, iShares, and Invesco—who replicate those indexes through various index funds—have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of their investors. Those motivations can sometimes be at odds.Often, they aren’t, though. A good index represents its target market, and its constituents are easily traded. This ensures that funds tracking the index can follow it closely, giving index fund investors the exposures they signed up for.What makes a good index? Good indexes also tend to be broadly diversified and may exclude struggling companies. Morningstar Medalist Ratings  for index funds reflect this, with broad index funds earning higher Process Pillar ratings than narrower benchmarks, or those without adequate risk-control measures.This is highly simplified, but it raises the question of whether an index with SpaceX is a good index, given its unique ownership structure, negative net income, and massive valuation.Read: Why We Think SpaceX Is OvervaluedActive DecisionsThere’s a reasonable argument to be made that indexes shouldn’t own companies that aren’t incentivized to listen to their shareholders. Why own a stock if its management won’t necessarily act in the best interest of shareholders?Market participants agreed with this idea in 2017, resulting in FTSE Russell’s introduction of a minimum 5% voting rights rule for its broad market index constituents. S&P also adopted a similar policy that year, requiring that new index constituents not offer share classes with different voting rights. The reasoning was that “voting rights in public hands were important to shareholder governance.” Few notable companies ever ran afoul of these requirements, so they were mostly an afterthought. Until now. The extremely founder-friendly ownership structures of SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic could have made these firms ineligible for broad Russell indexes per the voting rights requirement. But FTSE Russell amended the 2017 rule this year to allow sizable IPOs into their indexes even if they don’t meet that 5% threshold. If an index’s job is to represent the market, an index should own all stocks in the market, even if SpaceX’s public shareholders are afforded just 0.8% of company voting power initially.S&P scrapped its multiple share class eligibility exclusion in 2023.The Broad Influence of Index ChangesIndex-tracking funds wield even more power than their trillion-dollar portfolios would suggest. Not only do index funds have substantial de facto voting power with their ownership of nearly every stock in the world, but rebalancing these behemoths can also result in substantial share price moves for many portfolio companies. At each scheduled rebalance, index funds are either forced buyers or sellers of thousands of stocks. There were plenty of forced buyers when SpaceX entered these portfolios.How an index handles each mega-IPO determines how many shares index funds will buy and when those trades will occur.Below is a summary of five major equity index providers and their policies regarding entry for large IPOs in their respective suites of broad, market-cap-weighted US stock market indexes.\n\t\t\tCurrent Entry Requirements for Large IPOs\n\t\t       Source: Index provider documents, Morningstar Direct. Data as of May 31, 2026. Assets indexed represent only US open-end and exchange-traded funds tagged in Morningstar’s database as Passive-Index Tracking. [1] Total market capitalization. [2] Float-adjusted market capitalization. Download CSV.S&PThe S&P tweaked the float criteria for its suite of broad US indexes on June 4 but notably abstained from loosening its long-standing profitability requirement—a rule that requires new additions to have positive earnings in the most recent quarter and the most recent four quarters combined. This prevents SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, or other IPOs from being added to the S&P 500 roster for at least one year.Another Musk company, Tesla TSLA, failed this screen for over a decade before being added to the bogy in 2020.Once any of these firms satisfy this “financial viability” requirement, they don’t necessarily have to float at least 10% of shares. They’d be added once the stock’s float-adjusted market capitalization is greater than or equal to 10% of the 100th largest company in the S&P Total Market Index, ranked by total market capitalization.Regardless of when SpaceX is added, trillions of dollars of index fund assets tied to the S&P 500 will rebalance. Further, the myriad active managers who maintain some mandate to that index may also have to adjust their portfolios to reflect the change in benchmark composition.CRSPThe Center for Research in Securities Prices, acquired by Morningstar in early 2026, was one of the only index providers that had previously admitted IPOs ahead of any scheduled rebalance, and it remains the case this year. CRSP allows new IPOs into its suite of market indexes after five trading days if they pass the index’s eligibility and investability screens.The eligibility screen was tweaked earlier this year to allow low-float companies into its benchmarks. Fast-track IPOs now must have at least 10% float or have a float-adjusted market that’s at least 0.005% of the “index-eligible universe”—roughly $3.3 billion as of March 2026. CRSP only applied the 10% float test for fast-track IPOs previously.Since over $3 trillion in Vanguard index funds track CRSP US market indexes, eligibility and investability screens are crucial. Quickly adding new IPOs to an index allows that index to better reflect its target market, but the point is moot if funds aren’t able to efficiently buy or sell the newly public stock.FTSE RussellFTSE Russell’s new fast-entry rule allows large IPOs into its suite of US market indexes after five trading days—the same as CRSP. It only applies to sizable IPOs with float-adjusted market caps that rank in the top 500. This cutoff would be roughly $16.2 billion as of June 30.Previously, its US equity indexes, including the Russell 1000, granted IPOs entry at each scheduled quarterly rebalance but only if the stock also met certain other eligibility requirements, like a 5% minimum float and 5% minimum public voting share. The recent update does not require a minimum float or voting percentage for fast-track IPOs.MSCIMSCI has not changed its rules. MSCI’s US market indexes admit IPOs after 10 trading days as long as they’re at least 80% larger than MSCI’s minimum size requirement. This policy has been in place since 2007 and considers a stock’s total market cap as well as its float-adjusted market cap. On May 14, 2026, IPOs had to have a full market cap of roughly $26 billion and a float-adjusted market cap of $13 billion to be eligible.Fast-track IPOs do not need to meet free-float requirements or a liquidity screen.NasdaqNasdaq’s new rule clearly targets only the largest IPOs. For fast entry, a newly public company must rank within the top 40 holdings of the Nasdaq-100 Index by total market cap. This meant a total market cap of roughly $138.1 billion on June 30. SpaceX easily qualifies.Nasdaq waits 15 trading days before adding any IPO to its flagship index to avoid possible early volatility in those stocks’ prices. This makes it easier and cheaper for index funds to implement any adjustment. After 15 days, an IPO’s weight in the index is determined by the lesser of its total market cap or 3 times its float-adjusted market cap. This multiplier is down from the 5 times weighting adjustment considered in the original proposal.Any multiplier scales up the weight of low-float companies relative to high-float companies, but Nasdaq’s unique weighting scheme means that a low-float stock like SpaceX occupies a smaller position than it would if the multiplier was not in place. This is because the Nasdaq-100 weights stocks by their total market cap—not the industry standard float-adjusted market cap. The Nasdaq-100 is the only index noted here to weight holdings this way.SpaceX received a 1.3% weighting in the Nasdaq-100 when it was added on July 7, making it the 20th largest holding in Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ at the time. Initial position sizes were below 0.20% in both Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF \n\t\tVTI\n\t      and iShares Russell 1000 ETF IWB. The indexes behind those ETFs are weighted by float-adjusted market cap.Float Will Determine SpaceX’s Market ImpactA total market cap of $2.25 trillion at the end of June makes SpaceX the sixth largest public company in the world. However, it did not immediately become one of the largest holdings in many index funds. The company’s puny initial float limits its immediate size in most. The company’s float-adjusted market cap of around $110 billion places it just outside the top 100, and it collected just 0.15% of Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF’s assets when it was added to CRSP’s roster on June 23.\n\t\t\tLargest Companies in the World\n\t\t       Source: Morningstar, public filings. Data as of June 12, 2026. Download CSV.Substantial insider ownership prevented Saudi Aramco’s 2019 IPO from making a dent in most index funds. SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI may follow a similar path. At least at first.Read: How Will Mega-IPOs Change the Face of the Stock Market?The June 3 prospectus shows that Musk owns around 49% of SpaceX equity, with other insiders also owning a considerable amount. The $75 billion raised at IPO represents about 4.25% of total equity and slightly dilutes other shareholders. A “greenshoe” provision exercised on June 15 added around 639 million shares to the public float, bringing the company’s float ratio to 4.89% and increasing its float-adjusted market cap slightly.SpaceX prohibits insiders from selling stock for at least 180 days, with early releases possible at specific milestones before then. Musk and other significant investors, however, are restricted from selling the stock for 366 days. Since much of the company is owned by insiders, expiring lockup periods could unleash a whole lot more equity, or float, into the market. Sales from insiders will increase SpaceX’s float-adjusted market cap and therefore its position in market-cap-weighted indexes.The table below shows several float ratios that could materialize after both the 180- and 366-day lockup periods. It’s unlikely SpaceX’s float ratio will exceed 30% by December 2026 and 50% by June 2027.\n\t\t\tPossible SpaceX Float Scenarios\n\t\t       Source: Author’s calculations, Morningstar. Data as of June 12, 2026. Hypothetical values for illustrative purposes, based on June 12 closing total market capitalization and iShares Russell 1000 ETF. Download CSV.SpaceX could be among the 20 largest public stocks in the United States based on float-adjusted market cap after a year of trading. And if the stock appreciates, it could be even larger.Assuming no more share issuance, 60% float is the realistic ceiling for SpaceX with its dual share class system. Musk owns approximately 98% of company B-shares and 11% of its A-shares. Musk is unlikely to sell any B-shares because that share class holds 10 times the voting rights of the company’s A-shares. This dual structure is what grants Musk near-total control of the company. His B-share ownership counts for roughly 42% of total SpaceX shares.Regardless of where float ratios settle, SpaceX is unlikely to be a major component of index funds in the near future. The chart below shows just how large a part SpaceX may become, with projected weights based on possible float-adjusted market caps after each significant lockup period ends.\n\t\t\tPossible SpaceX Weightings in Russell 1000 Index\n\t\t       Source: Author’s calculations, Morningstar. Hypothetical values for illustrative purposes, based on June 12 closing market capitalization and iShares Russell 1000 ETF. Data as of June 12, 2026. Download CSV.SpaceX may collect more than 1% of a broad, cap-weighted index after its first year. But it may collect more or less in other indexes, depending on their particular approach.The trillions tracking these indexes mean that index funds are going to have to buy a lot of SpaceX stock. But the float-adjustment built into many of the biggest index funds means the market should be able to reasonably absorb this increased demand from funds.The Impact on Index Funds Is OverblownIt’s true that SpaceX is the largest IPO the world has ever seen. It’s not true that this large IPO will upend indexes and funds that track them. Some index providers bent the knee to this IPO because of its enormous size and prominence, but its short-term impact on most index funds will be minimal.The company’s influence is likely to increase as its float grows over time, but SpaceX will not supplant market giants Nvidia NVDA, Apple AAPL, or Microsoft MSFT at the top of market indexes anytime soon. SpaceX’s limited float will not allow it, and Musk’s considerable control makes its float ratio unlikely to eclipse 60% in the foreseeable future.The company’s total market cap would have to be at least 40% larger than any of the market’s biggest firms for it to hold a candle to those giants. At closing on June 30, SpaceX’s total market cap was around half that of the market’s three largest firms.More mega-IPOs are coming soon. The immediate public market impact of SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI, Stripe, and Databricks is likely to be minimal, but the potential growth of this crop of large IPOs may reshape index funds in a few years’ time. The degree of their individual and collective impact, however, rests squarely on how many shares are freely traded and when those shares become available.","kind":"highlight","is_publish_news":true,"is_publish_highlight":false,"is_publish_live":false,"is_publish_wemedia":false,"editions":null,"column":"","sentiment":"0","news_tag":"","news_rank":0,"isVideo":false,"video":null,"symbols":[],"gpt_button":0,"need_auth":false,"need_login_tip":false,"code":"91000000","status":"200"}}}