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CRSP indexes make gradual changes/transitions, unlike Russell indexes that make all changes on a single preannounced date.
When MSCI was a unit of MS decades ago, Vanguard was an early client. At that time, Vanguard was having issues with S&P on the use is SP500 name - Vanguard thought that it had a general license while S&P held that licenses were product specific. After MSCI became independent, it wanted to stiff Vanguard for more money. Not known to MSCI was that Vanguard had already been working/funding CRSP at U Chicago, and when MSCI got too big for its britches, Vanguard dumped MSCI for mostly CRSP and some FTSE indexes. I think that Vanguard is the only one using CRSP indexes - don't know if there is exclusivity in Vanguard-CRSP contract, or that others haven't warmed up to CRSP, or others cut fees.
But these industry details don't matter for personal benchmarking of VTSAX, and any total stock market index will do fine.
CRSP indexes make gradual changes/transitions, unlike Russell indexes that make all changes on a single preannounced date
I see that VTSAX is currently 29% LCG and 16% LCV. I assume this happened as a result of the run up in the FAANG stocks. Will "gradual changes" bring LCG and LCV more in balance?
That is not what gradual changes mean. That mean that when stocks go in/out of the index, CRSP does it in a few steps over a few days (unannounced).
Weighting of LCG vs LCV is what it is for total stock market and the index provider is not obligated to balance it. For example, here are the weighs (from M*) for DJ total stock market index that Fido FSKAX follows: LCV 16%, LCB 27%, LCG 30%.
Comments
When MSCI was a unit of MS decades ago, Vanguard was an early client. At that time, Vanguard was having issues with S&P on the use is SP500 name - Vanguard thought that it had a general license while S&P held that licenses were product specific. After MSCI became independent, it wanted to stiff Vanguard for more money. Not known to MSCI was that Vanguard had already been working/funding CRSP at U Chicago, and when MSCI got too big for its britches, Vanguard dumped MSCI for mostly CRSP and some FTSE indexes. I think that Vanguard is the only one using CRSP indexes - don't know if there is exclusivity in Vanguard-CRSP contract, or that others haven't warmed up to CRSP, or others cut fees.
But these industry details don't matter for personal benchmarking of VTSAX, and any total stock market index will do fine.
Weighting of LCG vs LCV is what it is for total stock market and the index provider is not obligated to balance it. For example, here are the weighs (from M*) for DJ total stock market index that Fido FSKAX follows: LCV 16%, LCB 27%, LCG 30%.
https://www.morningstar.com/funds/xnas/fskax/portfolio