Identification of S&P 500 constituents. The figure illustrates the ability to detect historical S&P 500 constituents according to the implemented identification strategy. Panel (A) presents the coverage of HSPC achieved at different stages of the data processing. The line in light grey refers to the HSPC found in Compustat. The blue line shows for how many of these constituents it is possible to find stock price information in CRSP. The red line starting in 1996 illustrates for how many HSPC it is also possible to find information in OptionMetrics. Panel (B) depicts the aggregate market capitalization for each of these three groups of HSPC.