The FTSE 100 is the main UK stock market index. How much would a £10,000 investment in it have made since October 1999?
Drumroll, please… £13,298. That’s based on a return of 32.98%.
I’d be very disappointed in that.
Why has this happened?
It might be tempting to blame this on the UK economy, but this has still grown faster than the FTSE 100. Its GDP was $1.69trn in 1999 and most recently $3.1trn at the end of 2022.
Furthermore, the FTSE 250 (^FTMC) has performed much better, rising by 272.43%.
One explanation is that the index lacks truly innovative world-class companies. A lot of the companies in it are in the financial services, banking, oil, mining, or support services sectors. These aren’t exactly high-growth or exciting companies and it could be why investors aren’t so enthusiastic about investing in them.
How have US stock markets fared?
If we turn our attention to the other side of the Atlantic,…
