U.S. Small-Caps Leading Re-emerging U.S. Bull Market (Bloomberg)

The Russell 2000 Index — compiled of U.S. smaller-cap companies — has risen 32 percent this year, almost double the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s gain of 19 percent. The spread between those two measures is the widest it has been since 2003. More importantly, three of the last four years that small-caps have outperformed their larger brethren by this much, the market has remained bullish throughout the coming year. Because small-cap gains are based more on domestic growth than that of larger multinationals, they are seen as an excellent barometer for the United States’ economic outlook. But is that enough for you to jump into the small-cap arena?