Mark Fisher, one of the most well-known traders on Wall Street, has put together an alternative index to the 120-year-old Dow Jones industrial average.
Fisher, CEO of MBF Clearing, launched the "Essential 40" index earlier this year, an index that includes Facebook, Exxon Mobil, Visa and UnitedHealth, among others. KKM Financial launched a mutual fund on Monday, the Essential 40 Stock Fund (ESSIX), which tracks the index.
"It's today's version of the Dow Jones," Fisher told CNBC's "Halftime Report" on Tuesday. "It's the 40 most essential names to the way you live."
"Without these names your life is blank," he said jokingly.
Below is a chart of the 40 stocks in the Essential 40 index and how they have performed in 2017:
Throughout its history, the Dow has been the go-to benchmark of the U.S. stock market for Main Street market watchers. The biggest difference between the Dow and Fisher's Essential 40 index — aside from the number of stocks in them and how long they've been around — is how they are weighted.
The Dow is a price-weighted index, meaning stocks with a higher price will have a bigger sway on the index's overall direction. Stocks in the Essential 40 index, meanwhile, all have a 2.5 percent weight on the index.
Fisher is one of the most wildly followed commodities traders on Wall Street, being known for making calls on oil and energy. He has also worked with the likes of legendary hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones.
Oil prices are up about 7 percent in 2017, following a year where they shot up 45 percent. But at current levels, Fisher thinks crude is "trapped."
"I think the upside is limited to $60-$63 and the downside is capped around the high $40s," he said. "I think that, if we go up much more, what will happen is you'll see a lot more rigs come online." Fisher also said that a lot of people in OPEC and Russia are comfortable with crude trading at these levels.
U.S. oil gained 0.37 percent to trade at $57.68 per barrel on Tuesday.
Fisher also said he likes shares of Barrick Gold here on the dip. The stock is down 14 percent for the year.