Archive note · corrected
Small caps in January 2026: preserve the benchmark before comparing
A dated correction preserves the benchmark definition and a separately dated market snapshot while withdrawing unsupported month-end returns, cohorts and allocation effects.
What changed in this article
Editorial correction · 9 September 2026. The original article was published on 17 February 2026 and compared an asserted January follower portfolio with the Russell 2000 and S&P 500. It also presented N=312 posts from 54 accounts, N=486 modeled executions, sleeve weights and several percentage-point effects. The page did not preserve the post-level register, exact holdings, index series, return type, dividends, currency, rebalance timestamps or calculations. The stated +1.9%, +5.4%, +1.5%, $2,400 per $100,000, +4.3%, 2.4pp, all drag estimates, cohort shares and allocation effects are withdrawn. The original URL and publication date remain unchanged.
The malformed currency display in the original opportunity-cost sentence is withdrawn with the unsupported comparison; no replacement amount is published.
What the benchmark records establish
| Source date and record | Dated fact | Boundary |
|---|---|---|
| LSEG Russell US Indexes | LSEG identifies the Russell 1000 as a large-cap index and the Russell 2000 as a small-cap index within its Russell US benchmark family. The page describes the family as supporting current and historical market-performance tracking by market segment and style. | An index-family description does not supply the original article’s January 2026 month-end rows, dividend convention, portfolio weights or influencer register. |
| 13 February 2026 · LPL Research weekly market performance | In a Bloomberg-sourced table timestamped 2:51 p.m. ET on 13 February, LPL reports YTD returns of 7.00% for the Russell 2000 and 0.28% for the S&P 500. | This is a 13 February YTD snapshot, not a January 1–31 month-end comparison and not evidence for the original custom rotation basket. |
| 13 January 2026 · LSEG Russell US Indexes Spotlight | LSEG’s January spotlight is described as a quarterly report focused on U.S. equity performance and drivers through Russell large-cap, small-cap, Growth and Value indexes. | Its Q4 reference is not a substitute for a January month-end return calculation. |
The benchmark names can therefore be retained with their size definitions, while the original month-end comparison remains unverified.
What is withdrawn
The 312-post and 54-account sample, 486-execution sample, follower and rotation-basket returns, Russell/S&P January figures, per-$100,000 opportunity-cost amount, style-factor drag table, content shares, portfolio weights, modeled effects and rebalance thresholds are not verified findings. No replacement January return, allocation model or future small-cap prediction is published.
The research question remains useful only after freezing the benchmark, return type, portfolio and information cutoff. A benchmark label alone cannot answer whether an influencer arrived late.
Minimum register for a future large/small-cap comparison
Record exact index or investable-instrument identifiers; price or total-return series; currency and dividend treatment; start/end timestamps and holidays; holdings, weights and rebalance rules; style and sector classifications; post URL and capture time; inclusion/deduplication rules; fees, spreads and slippage; and the complete calculation output. Keep January month-end evidence separate from later February snapshots.
Original publication: 17 February 2026. Correction: 9 September 2026. AI-assisted source checking and writing; no independent human expert review. This page is educational market research, not personalized investment advice.