Returns of S&P 500, NASDAQ, IPOs & SPAC mergers in the U.S. 2020

Equity returns remained high in 2020, in spite of the uncertainty and volatility caused by the coronavirus pandemic and related partial shutdowns. Initial public offerings (IPOs) ended the year with the highest rate of equity returns, which amounted to 76 percent returns for investors. However, the most compelling financial story in the second half of the year revolved around the huge increase in IPOs via special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). SPAC mergers refer to the practice of a SPAC, which is a publicly listed company with no operations, merging with a private company to take the latter public without following the normal IPO process.

Why are NASDAQ and S&P 500 relevant benchmarks?

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are two of the most important stock indices in the United States, if not the world. The Nasdaq Composite Index includes over 2,500 stocks listed on the Nasdaq stock market, which is the second largest stock exchange globally. The S&P 500 index tracks the stock value of 500 large companies, such as Facebook and Alphabet, listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

What level of impact did the pandemic have on these indices?

Over the past decade, both the NASDAQ Composite index and the S&P 500 index have skyrocketed in value. However, both indices took a hit in February and March 2020 when the uncertainty caused by the pandemic led to investors selling off assets en masse. This dip was short-lived and both indices had fully recovered by the third quarter.