Note from the Publisher:  The following piece from Wharton Business School's website makes the interesting note that 10 years ago, the top 5 companies on the S&P 500 index were Exxon, GE, Microsoft, Gazprom and Citigroup. Now, they are ALL tech/digital companies - Apple, Alphabet (parent company of Google), Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook.  This fact made us ponder the many ramifications of fintech, and what the financial landscape will look like 10 years from now, when these new apps have been around for a decade and have become more widely used and accepted.  Will Circle or Stripe be bigger than Citi or BofA?  Probably not, but who knows?  Stay informed friends - the world of finance is changing quickly.  And btw, we DO know that "eruditer" is not a word.

"In a world rapidly switching to digital business models, the old ways of classifying industries and measuring business performances do not suffice anymore. So argue Barry Libert, CEO of OpenMatters, Megan Beck, the chief insights officer, and Wharton marketing professor Jerry (Yoram) Wind. In this opinion piece, they say it’s time to upgrade Standard & Poor’s Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) and GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) to more fully reflect the value of intangible assets as digital companies take the lead in this economy. The top market cap rankings in the S&P 500 already show this shift, with tech titans coming out on top and supplanting industrial firms.

These days, every company either is or must become a digital organization if they want to survive and grow in the age of platforms and networks. But getting there is no cakewalk. The journey requires leaving behind old mental models of industry and value.

A decade ago, the five most valuable companies on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were Exxon, GE, Microsoft, Gazprom and Citigroup. Today, the ranking has radically changed. The index’s top five most valuable companies are in tech: Apple, Alphabet (parent company of Google), Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook."

Read Full Article at knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu