ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Russell 3000

Okay kiddo, so the Russell 3000 is like a big list of companies. You know how you have a list of friends in your class, and your teacher keeps track of how everyone's doing? Well, the Russell 3000 is like that, but for grown-up companies that are traded on the stock market. This means that people can buy little pieces of these companies and try to make money.

The Russell 3000 is made up of pretty much all the companies in America that are publicly traded, which means that they sell tiny bits of ownership to people who want to invest their money. There are a lot of companies on this list, and they come from all sorts of industries – like technology, healthcare, retail, and more.

When someone talks about the Russell 3000, they're usually trying to understand how well all of these companies are doing together. It helps them get an idea of what's going on in the economy, and whether or not people are confident in investing their money in these companies.

So basically, the Russell 3000 is a big list of companies that people use to keep track of the stock market and the economy. It's like a grown-up version of the class list your teacher keeps, so you can see how everyone's doing and try to make smart decisions about your money.