Many seasoned investors often say: if you want to see the true pulse of the global economy, instead of watching the Nasdaq or the S&P 500, it's better to focus on the NYSE Composite Index.

What is the biggest difference between these two indices? The first two only focus on tech giants or large companies, while the NYSE Composite Index includes all stocks listed on the NYSE — we're talking about over 2,000 companies. Traditional industries like energy, finance, healthcare, and consumer sectors are all included, along with emerging industries. To give an analogy, it's like an old tree with deep roots and lush branches, firmly sitting at the center of the global financial market.

For investors, understanding this index is essentially about learning how to lay a solid, diversified foundation for their asset allocation.

Why is this index so worth paying attention to? Because it contains a bunch of century-old blue-chip companies, a large number of stable dividend-paying Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), and companies engaged in cross-border business. If you can hold such an index allocation, what you get is a real snapshot of the global industrial economy.

The reality is this: for many domestic investors, understanding these indices is not difficult; the challenge is how to break through technical barriers and truly share in the growth benefits brought by these top global companies. That’s where most people get stuck.