Introduction to the ASX All Ords
The ASX All Ords, which is an abbreviation for the All Ordinaries Index, or All Ordinaries for short was created in 1980. Historically, it represents the oldest index of shares in Australia, the reason being because it consists of nearly the entire ordinary share list on the ASX. In terms of value, the market capitalisation or market cap of the list of companies on the All Ords represents the majority of the value of all ASX-listed shares. On the ASX, the All Ords is represented with the ticker XAO.
In 1980, the ASX All Ords had a value of 500 points, which would provide a benchmark for future growth on the ASX. Supposing that the All Ords was to increase to 5000, this would mean an increase in the value of the stocks by a factor of 10.
The structure of the All Ords was changed in 2000 to represent the top 500 companies on the ASX by market cap. Also introduced at this time, was the ASX 200 index and with the ASX 100 index being derived from the ASX 200 index.
Nowadays, the All Ords has become a secondary index, due to the popularity of the ASX 200.
Historically, the All Ords was at its highest in November 2007, with a value of 6873, reaching a low point of 3,111 due to the 2008/2009 recession. At the time of writing, the ASX All Ords is around the 4,000 mark
