[dogbyte12]

How can you actually judge historical performance when you get rid of companies? I can see if a company goes bankrupt, out of business, etc... removing them, but removing a bellweather stock because it's size isn't so great kind of defeats the purpose of the average IMHO.

[JohnKeble]

I agree with dogbyte12. How can you fairly judge historical performance if you keep changing who is in the Dow? I may be missing something, but it appears as if whenever this happens that weaker companies are replaced by stronger ones, thus distorting what is really happening in the markets. When so much attention is paid to one index, it is easier and more tempting to manipulate perception. What does this do to all of the charts we've seen telling us how great the stock market has done historically?