Indexing: theory and history

History
Charles Dow and the Dow Jones Average (July 3, 1884).

Alfred Cowles Can Stock Market Forecasters Forecast? Econometrica Volume 1, Issue 3, (July, 1933) pp. 309-324. Cowles Commission Indexes

1957: S&P 500 Index created

01/02/1969: MSCI EAFE Index created

1974: Wilshire 5000 Index created

1973-1974: The first institutional indexes based on the S&P 500 index were launched.

08/31/1976: Vanguard 500 Index Fund was launched.

1984: Russell Indexes created

08/17/1989 Vanguard Small Cap Index Fund was created by converting Naess & Thomas Special Fund into an index fund based on the Russell 2000 Index.

03/1990: Toronto Stock Exchange's Toronto Index Participation Shares (TIPS), based on the Toronto 35 Index (ETF) launched.

06/18/1990: Vanguard European Stock Index Fund and Vanguard Pacific Stock Index Fund were launched.

04/27/1992: Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund was launched.

01/1993: Standard & Poor's Depository Receipts (SPDRS ETF) launched.

1996: WEBS international ETFs launched (later to evolve into iShares)

Exchange Traded Funds Annual Statistics

Fama, Eugene F., "Market Efficiency, Long-Term Returns, and Behavioral Finance "(February 1997). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=15108 or DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.10.2139/ssrn.15108

Lo, Andrew W., "Efficient Markets Hypothesis". THE NEW PALGRAVE: A DICTIONARY OF ECONOMICS, L. Blume, S. Durlauf, eds., 2nd Edition, Palgrave Macmillan Ltd., 2007 Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=991509

John C. Bogle Whether Markets are More Efficient or Less Efficient, Costs Matter From the Nov-Dec 2003 issue of CFA Magazine