Evolution of the Wilshire

The Wilshire 5000, created in 1974, was a groundbreaking measure of the U.S. equity market, initially encompassing around 5000 stocks. However, due to various factors like the dot-com crash and a shift towards private capital, the number of publicly traded companies has significantly decreased to about 3500 today. This change highlights the evolving landscape of investment opportunities and the challenges of accessing a broad range of securities in the current market.