"It's all about bucks, kid. The rest is conversation."

Capital markets can be broadly divided into three main asset classes: equity markets (stocks and shares), debt markets (government and corporate bonds) and commodity markets (gold, oil, agricultural products and more). Each serves a different economic function — equity markets allow companies to raise growth capital, debt markets enable governments and corporations to borrow, and commodity markets facilitate the trading of physical goods that underpin the global economy.

Across all these asset classes, indexes have become the standard tool for measuring and communicating risk and performance. An index tracks a defined basket of securities or assets, providing a single number that captures the collective movement of a market — from the S&P 500's snapshot of US large-cap equities to the Bloomberg Commodity Index's sweep across raw materials. For investors, indexes serve as benchmarks, as the basis for passive investment products such as ETFs, and as reference rates for derivative strategies.

The Index Academy provides educational reference content on the most important indexes across each asset class — their history, methodology, regional coverage and role in global finance. For a deeper understanding of index construction methodology, the BIS financial statistics portal and the IMF World Economic Outlook are authoritative references. Select a category below to explore.