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Dimensional on Today's Market Valuations Thumbnail

Dimensional on Today's Market Valuations

We're pleased to share the following post, written by Dimensional Fund Advisor's Senior Investment Director and Vice President Wes Crill, PhD.

Aggregate stock market valuation ratios have not been strong predictors of broad market returns. And yet, high stock valuations sit near the top of concerns cited by investors about the state of equity markets. However, this perception stems from a subset of stocks, and investors should be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater by ascribing this characteristic to the global stock market.

The poster child for high valuations — the so-called Magnificent Seven (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla) —had an aggregate price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 11.89 as of September 30 (despite six of the seven having lower profitability than the S&P 500 index). To put that in perspective, the average for the US market over the past 30 years is 3.05.1

These stocks helped push up the P/B ratio of the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite to 5.21. But broader market indices, especially those with non-US stocks, have substantially lower valuations. For example, the global MSCI All Country World IMI Index P/B is less than half that of the Nasdaq.

Indices are not available for direct investment. S&P data © 2023 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global. All rights reserved. Frank Russell Company is the source and owner of the trademarks, service marks, and copyrights related to the Russell Indexes. MSCI data © 2023, all rights reserved.



David Rappaport, CFP®
David is the Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Rappaport Reiches Capital Management. He acts as personal CFO to entrepreneurs and corporate executives, providing organization and clarity in their finances. Please connect with David below. He loves to talk about investing, financial planning, and Aspiritech, a non-profit hiring individuals on the autism spectrum.


Dimensional Notes
1. Average P/B ratio for the Fama/French Total US Market Research Index from October 1998 through September 2023.
The author does not intend to provide investment, legal or tax advice as these materials are for general educational purposes only. Please consult your legal, tax or investment professional for advice on your particular situation. This material is derived from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy and the opinions based thereon are not guaranteed. It is not intended to be a solicitation, offer or recommendation to acquire or dispose of any investment or to engage in any other transaction. Investing involves risk including the possible loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Please refer to RRCM’s Form ADV Part 2 for additional disclosures regarding RRCM and its practices.