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The Soaring Value of Intangible Assets in the S&P 500

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Tangible vs intangible assets in the S&P 500

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The Briefing

  • Intangibles as a portion of total assets in the S&P 500 have reached unprecedented levels.
  • As of 2020, 90% of all assets in the S&P 500 are now intangible.

The Soaring Value of Intangible Assets in the S&P 500

When it comes to the S&P 500’s market value, abstract is in.

Intangible assets currently account for 90% of the index’s total assets. Not only is this a historical high—it’s a nod to just how prevalent technology has become in our lives.

Intangible assets are holdings that don’t carry any physical or financial embodiment. This includes R&D, intellectual property, and computerized information such as data and software. While they’re often difficult to value due to certain accounting practices, today, intangibles are worth over $21 trillion.

YearValue of Intangibles in S&P 500
1975$122 Billion
1985$428 Billion
1995$3.12 Trillion
2005$9.28 Trillion
2018$21.03 Trillion

The value of intangible assets in dollar terms has risen from $122 billion in 1975, eventually soaring past the $1 trillion mark in the coming decades.

The 1990s ushered society into an era of tech, where intangible assets first began to take majority status. The timeline was hardly linear and smooth transition, and some serious bumps took place along the way including two market crashes in 2000 and 2008.

There are reasons to suggest that influence of tech and thus intangible assets has more steam in its engine. The looming 5G revolution, more internet users on the horizon, and the powerful potential of new technologies are all supporting considerations.

Where does this data come from?

Source: Ocean Tomo Intellectual Capital Equity and IP CloseUp.
Notes: Certain accounting practices can lead to difficulties in valuing an intangible asset and at times must be estimated based on transactions or the difference between company book and market value.

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Economy

Charted: Public Trust in the Federal Reserve

Public trust in the Federal Reserve chair has hit its lowest point in 20 years. Get the details in this infographic.

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The Briefing

  • Gallup conducts an annual poll to gauge the U.S. public’s trust in the Federal Reserve
  • After rising during the COVID-19 pandemic, public trust has fallen to a 20-year low

 

Charted: Public Trust in the Federal Reserve

Each year, Gallup conducts a survey of American adults on various economic topics, including the country’s central bank, the Federal Reserve.

More specifically, respondents are asked how much confidence they have in the current Fed chairman to do or recommend the right thing for the U.S. economy. We’ve visualized these results from 2001 to 2023 to see how confidence levels have changed over time.

Methodology and Results

The data used in this infographic is also listed in the table below. Percentages reflect the share of respondents that have either a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence.

YearFed chair% Great deal or Fair amount
2023Jerome Powell36%
2022Jerome Powell43%
2021Jerome Powell55%
2020Jerome Powell58%
2019Jerome Powell50%
2018Jerome Powell45%
2017Janet Yellen45%
2016Janet Yellen38%
2015Janet Yellen42%
2014Janet Yellen37%
2013Ben Bernanke42%
2012Ben Bernanke39%
2011Ben Bernanke41%
2010Ben Bernanke44%
2009Ben Bernanke49%
2008Ben Bernanke47%
2007Ben Bernanke50%
2006Ben Bernanke41%
2005Alan Greenspan56%
2004Alan Greenspan61%
2003Alan Greenspan65%
2002Alan Greenspan69%
2001Alan Greenspan74%

Data for 2023 collected April 3-25, with this statement put to respondents: “Please tell me how much confidence you have [in the Fed chair] to recommend the right thing for the economy.”

We can see that trust in the Federal Reserve has fluctuated significantly in recent years.

For example, under Alan Greenspan, trust was initially high due to the relative stability of the economy. The burst of the dotcom bubble—which some attribute to Greenspan’s easy credit policies—resulted in a sharp decline.

On the flip side, public confidence spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was likely due to Jerome Powell’s decisive actions to provide support to the U.S. economy throughout the crisis.

Measures implemented by the Fed include bringing interest rates to near zero, quantitative easing (buying government bonds with newly-printed money), and emergency lending programs to businesses.

Confidence Now on the Decline

After peaking at 58%, those with a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the Fed chair have tumbled to 36%, the lowest number in 20 years.

This is likely due to Powell’s hard stance on fighting post-pandemic inflation, which has involved raising interest rates at an incredible speed. While these rate hikes may be necessary, they also have many adverse effects:

  • Negative impact on the stock market
  • Increases the burden for those with variable-rate debts
  • Makes mortgages and home buying less affordable

Higher rates have also prompted many U.S. tech companies to shrink their workforces, and have been a factor in the regional banking crisis, including the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

Where does this data come from?

Source: Gallup (2023)

Data Notes: Results are based on telephone interviews conducted April 3-25, 2023, with a random sample of –1,013—adults, ages 18+, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on this sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. See source for details.

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