The FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs index is a free-float adjusted, market capitalization-weighted index of equity real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the United States. As of December 2023, the market cap of the index was 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars, up from 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars in December 2021. To be included in the index, the 140 constituents have to have more than 50 percent of total assets in qualifying real estate assets other than mortgages secured by real property. Infrastructure, residential, and retail real estate are the largest REIT segments: Industrial real estate REITs had a market cap of 178 billion U.S. dollars as of December 2023, while retail had a market cap of almost 190 billion U.S. dollars. The number of REITs has remained fairly constant in recent years, but the market cap has increased notably.

In 2024, stock markets in the United States accounted for roughly 60 percent of world stocks. The next largest country by stock market share was Japan, followed by the United Kingdom. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ are the largest stock exchange operators worldwide. What is a stock exchange? The first modern publicly traded company was the Dutch East Industry Company, which sold shares to the general public to fund expeditions to Asia. Since then, groups of companies have formed exchanges in which brokers and dealers can come together and make transactions in one space. Stock market indices group companies trading on a given exchange, giving an idea of how they evolve in real time. Appeal of stock ownership Over half of adults in the United States are investing money in the stock market. Stocks are an attractive investment because the possible return is higher than offered by other financial instruments.