FTSE 100 Index

For the UK investor, the FTSE 100 Index can come in handy in several different ways, and it is generally considered a major performance benchmark for UK investors. 
 

In addition to investing directly in FTSE 100 companies, it is also possible to invest in funds that have been put together to follow the FTSE 100 – with or without leverage. A leveraged fund comes with a bit of extra risk, since the leverage amplifies the movements of the index. 
 

​ Short facts about the FTSE 100 Index 
 

    • The FTSE 100 Index is a large-cap index comprised of the 100 qualifying LSE-listed UK-based companies with the highest market capitalisation. The weighting method is capitalisation-weighted. 

    • The FTSE 100 Index was created in 1984 as a joint venture between the London Stock Exchange and the newspaper Financial Times. 

    • The FTSE 100 Index is maintained by the FTSE Group, which is owned by the London Stock Exchange Group.

    • It is calculated in real time and published every second when the market is open. 

    • The nickname for the FTSE 100 Index is ”Footsie”. 

    • The FTSE 100 Index is considered a strong indicator for how well big businesses regulated by UK company law are doing.

    • In May 2020, the market cap for the index was £1.814 trillion.  

    • When the index was launched in 1984, the base level was set at 1,000. 

    • The trading day 22 May 2018 holds the current record for both highest intraday level and highest closing level for the index. On this day, the index peaked at 7,903.50 and closed at 7,877.45. 
 

​ Qualifying for the FTSE 100 Index
 

Being listed on the LSE and having a large market capitalisation is not enough to be admitted to the FTSE 100 Index. There are several requirements that must be fulfilled, so saying that the index is comprised of the 100 biggest companies on the LSE is not correct. 
 

Notably, only UK companies can be admitted to the index, so foreign companies listed on the LSE can not qualify regardless of how big they are. Further, the company must have a full listing on the LSE with a Sterling and Euro denominated price on the Stock Electronic Trading Service. 
 

Important: Even though all companies in the index are based in the United Kingdom, many of them are international companies with an international market, and they are heavily impacted by the exchange rate of the sterling. The FTSE 100 Index is therefore not considered a good gauge for the British economy in general. The FTSE 250 Index is considered a better gauge, since the proportion of internationally focused companies is lower in this index.
 

​ Weighting 
 

The FTSE 100 Index is a capitalisation-weighted index, where share prices are weighted by free-float capitalisation.
 

​ FTSE 100 Index companies in March 2021
 

This data is from 19 March 2021.
 

    • 3i

    • Admiral Group

    • Anglo American plc

    • Antofagasta

    • Ashtead Group

    • Associated British Foods

    • AstraZeneca

    • Auto Trader Group

    • Avast

    • Aveva

    • Aviva

    • B&M

    • BAE Systems

    • Barclays

    • Barratt Developments

    • Berkeley Group Holdings

    • BHP

    • BP

    • British American Tobacco

    • British Land

    • BT Group

    • Bunzl

    • Burberry

    • Coca-Cola HBC

    • Compass Group

    • CRH plc

    • Croda International

    • DCC plc

    • Diageo

    • Entain

    • Evraz

    • Experian

    • Ferguson plc

    • Flutter Entertainment

    • Fresnillo

    • GlaxoSmithKline

    • Glencore

    • Halma

    • Hargreaves Lansdown

    • Hikma Pharmaceuticals

    • HSBC

    • IHG Hotels & Resorts

    • Imperial Brands

    • Informa

    • Intermediate Capital Group

    • International Airlines Group

    • Intertek

    • JD Sports

    • Johnson Matthey

    • Just Eat Takeaway

    • Kingfisher

    • Land Securities

    • Legal & General

    • Lloyds Banking Group

    • London Stock Exchange Group

    • M&G

    • Melrose Industries

    • Mondi

    • National Grid plc

    • NatWest Group

    • Next plc

    • Ocado Group

    • Pearson plc

    • Pershing Square Holdings

    • Persimmon plc

    • Phoenix Group

    • Polymetal International

    • Prudential plc

    • Reckitt

    • RELX

    • Renishaw

    • Rentokil Initial

    • Rightmove

    • Rio Tinto

    • Rolls-Royce Holdings

    • Royal Dutch Shell

    • RSA Insurance Group

    • Sage Group

    • Sainsbury's

    • Schroders

    • Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust

    • Segro

    • Severn Trent

    • DS Smith

    • Smiths Group

    • Smith & Nephew

    • Smurfit Kappa

    • Spirax-Sarco Engineering

    • SSE plc

    • Standard Chartered

    • Standard Life Aberdeen

    • St. James's Place plc

    • Taylor Wimpey

    • Tesco

    • Unilever

    • United Utilities

    • Vodafone Group

    • Weir Group

    • Whitbread

    • WPP plc

 

​ Other indices  
 

The FTSE 100 Index is one of the most famous indices for the London Stock Exchange (LSE), alongside the FTSE 250, FTSE 350, FTSE SmallCap, and FTSE All-Share indices.