Russell roulette: Russell Investments ready for "reconstitution" of indexes

Some call it "Judgment Day." After today's close, Tacoma-based Russell Investments will take the first step in the annual "reconstitution" of its indexes, including the Russell 2000 for small companies.

The probable new lineups will be out June 13, but given Russell's criteria, such as market value and minimum share price, investors can guess which companies will be added or deleted. This could bring hectic trading for the stocks in coming weeks.

Morningstar says 20 index mutual funds track the Russell 2000. Overall, Russell says more than $4.4 trillion in funds measure their performance against one of its indexes.

Melissa Roberts, of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, said that due to market weakness she expects the market-cap range for the 2000 to fall between $166 million and $2 billion, versus last year's range of $261.8 million and $2.5 billion, the first drop since 2003.

Roberts expects big changes among financials, the index's largest sector. She thinks 12 will shift from the large-cap Russell 1000 to the 2000, compared with just two last year, while four will move up.

She predicts 55 financials will be added.

"We also expect that financial companies will account for 48 of the 170 expected deletions from the Russell 2000," Roberts writes. Among her candidates: Impac Mortgage Holdings (IMH) and American West Bancorp (AWBC).

Explaining the process, Russell's Lori Richards says: "Many mid-cap and small-cap stocks in particular don't necessarily stay mid- or small-cap. A lot of them go larger or smaller, so every year you've got to do something to reflect the changes."