Frequently Asked Questions About the TSC New Tech 30

For more information about TheStreet.com's regular indices, please see Frequently Asked Questions About the TSC Internet Sector Index, Frequently Asked Questions About the TSC E-Finance Index and Frequently Asked Questions About the TSC E-Commerce Index.

What is TheStreet.com New Tech 30?

The TSC New Tech 30 index is intended to take the pulse of the so-called hot money in the tech sector. The index, first christened the

Red Hot Index

, tracks the performance of a group of stocks selected by

TheStreet.com

readers, staff and

TSC

columnist and co-founder

James J. Cramer

.

Cramer first unveiled the idea in a

column in August 1999, and it garnered so much reader response that

TSC

decided to create an index using these particularly volatile stocks as a measure of the market's temperament. The Red Hot Index expanded to 30 stocks from 20 as of Dec. 31, 1999, and was renamed the TSC New Tech 30.

How is the TSC New Tech 30 different from TheStreet.com Internet Sector index, TheStreet.com E-Finance index and/or TheStreet.com E-Commerce index?

The TSC New Tech 30 is an index expressly created and tracked by

TheStreet.com

. Its daily quote is available

here.

What is an index?

Similar to the

S&P 500

, the

Dow Jones Industrial Average

or the

Russell 2000

, the TSC New Tech 30 measures the average performance of a group of stocks. This index tracks the value of a certain basket of stocks, which are subject to change as

TSC

deems necessary to reflect the nature of the market.

Do any mutual funds or options track the TSC New Tech 30?

No index funds or options currently track this index.

What companies make up the TSC New Tech 30?

The TSC New Tech 30 is a market cap-weighted measure of these 30 stocks:

Akamai Technologies (AKAM) - Get Report
Ariba (ARBA)
BEA Systems
Broadcom
Broadvision (BVSN) - Get Report
Brocade (BRCD)
CMGI (CMGI)
Commerce One (CMRC)
Copper Mountain Networks (CMTN)
Conexant (CNXT) - Get Report
Exodus (EXDS)
Extreme Networks (EXTR) - Get Report
Foundry Networks
FreeMarkets (FMKT)
Harmonic (HLIT) - Get Report
Internet Capital Group (ICGE)
i2 Technologies (ITWO)
JDS Uniphase (JDSU)
Juniper Networks (JNPR) - Get Report
Liberate Technologies (LBRT) - Get Report
Network Appliance (NTAP) - Get Report
Phone.com (PHCM)
PMC-Sierra (PMCS)
Qualcomm (QCOM) - Get Report
QLogic (QLGC)
Red Hat (RHAT)
Redback Networks (RBAK)
RF Micro Devices (RFMD)
Sycamore Networks (SCMR)
VeriSign (VRSN) - Get Report

The index was originally created with 18 companies, but its fans demanded more. So Cramer, with assistance from his colleague

Matt Jacobs

,

polled readers to see which two companies should be added to the index. As a result, Internet Capital Group and Harmonic were added to the Red Hots after the market closed Sept. 2, 1999.

Then, on Oct. 7, 1999, Foundry Networks replaced

Net2Phone

(NTOP)

in the Red Hots after another

vote by

TSC

readers. Also, as Cramer

promised, Sycamore Networks was added to the index after the close Oct. 28, replacing

Gadzoox Networks

(ZOOX)

.

As of Dec. 31, 1999, 10 new stocks were added, bringing the index to 30 components. They are:

CMGI

(CMGI)

,

Commerce One

(CMRC)

,

BEA Systems

,

RF Micro Devices

(RFMD)

,

Broadvision

(BVSN) - Get Report

,

Network Appliance

(NTAP) - Get Report

,

Liberate Technologies

(LBRT) - Get Report

,

Akamai Technologies

(AKAM) - Get Report

,

i2 Technologies

(ITWO)

and

FreeMarkets

(FMKT)

.

This list of companies is subject to change at any time.

Does TheStreet.com recommend that I invest in the companies that make up the TSC New Tech 30?

TheStreet.com

does not make investment recommendations of any kind. Additionally, the 30 companies that make up the TSC New Tech 30 are not necessarily better than companies that weren't included.

Performance of the TSC New Tech 30 is intended to reflect market volatility, and, as in many other sectors of the market, investing can pose substantial risks.