"It's like picking a pope, with the cardinals getting together in the back room to decide who should be in and who should be out," says NYU Stern School of Business professor Richard Sylla about the triumvirate that selects the companies on the Dow Jones Industrial Average index, which turns 115 years old on May 26. "I think they're making an honest effort to come up with an index that reflects the American economy." Sylla, who is the Henry Kaufman professor of history of financial institutions and markets, predicts that this decade is likely to be "a lot better" than the last one," based on historical analysis. We spoke with Sylla at an event commemorating the Dow's birthday at the New York Society of Security Analysts. For more on the anniversary, watch "The Dow at 115: Still relevant after all these years," our video conversation with Dow Jones Indexes' John Prestbo, affectionately known as the Keeper of the Dow. - Mary Kathleen Flynn