Nifty Fifty / FAANG

[sengsational]

I wanted to capture this question before I forgot it. It's something I might want to research, but need to mow the lawn.


How long was it between the coining of the term "nifty fifty" and when that set of companies was decimated, from a market pricing standpoint? Of course "decimated" is something that will need a definition, but let's start with loss of 1/3 of the market value from the peak.


Then, is there a similarity between that historical set of stocks and this thing I've seen lately called FAANG? I know nothing about this, but have seen references on this board. If it's just those 5, I guess not much like 50, but maybe it means more, or there's a list of more that fit the mold.



I haven't even checked wikipedia on these, but figured I'd put this out here and it would force me to research it. And in the meantime, the wisdom here might put a finer point on the question, or enumerate the comparability or lack thereof.

 

[DrRoy]

All I can say is that it was coined in the 1960's, and they got a good crushing in the 73-74 bear market.

 

[Lsbcal]

I think Jeremy Siegal's book has a section on the Nifty Fifty. Probably a lot more diverse then the very small number of tech stocks in FAANG. I doubt there are lessons to be learned in a direct comparison.

I have a big helping of large cap growth and midcap growth but that is due to trend following. Not pretty at the moment.

 

[OldShooter]

... Then, is there a similarity between that historical set of stocks and this thing I've seen lately called FAANG? ...

Of course, though the history of this kind of thing goes back much farther.

“Every age has its peculiar folly: Some scheme, project, or fantasy into which it plunges, spurred on by the love of gain, the necessity of excitement, or the force of imitation.”

“Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one.”
​

from "Extraordinary Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" by Charles McKay, Published 1852