FTSE 100
The 100 largest UK-listed companies, dividend-heavy, value-tilted, and very different from the S&P 500.
What it tracks
FTSE Russell reviews the index quarterly. A company must be incorporated in the UK or carry a UK primary listing, and must meet minimum and requirements. The index is weighted by free-float market capitalisation, companies with large insider or government shareholdings count less. A peculiarity of the FTSE 100: many of its largest constituents are truly global businesses that happen to be listed in London. Shell earns most of its revenues worldwide; AstraZeneca operates globally; Rio Tinto mines on every continent. The UK economy itself is only a fraction of the index's actual economic exposure.
Geographic exposure
Where in the world the index is invested, by domicile of listed company. For global indices this varies significantly between developed and emerging markets.
All 100 constituents are UK-listed, but their revenues are overwhelmingly international. Shell, BP and Rio Tinto operate globally; HSBC earns most of its profits in Asia; AstraZeneca sells worldwide. Estimates suggest only ~25% of FTSE 100 revenues are generated inside the UK, making this a global index in a British wrapper.
Approximate end-2025 figures, returns in GBP
Historical performance
Annual total returns from 2001 onward, including reinvested . Move the slider to see what a different starting amount would have become, and switch to the bar view to see how uneven the path actually was.
Total return, dividends reinvested, before fees and taxes. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Returns by decade
Average annualised return for each full decade. This view makes it obvious that the path is anything but smooth, the 2000s were a lost decade for US equities, erasing all gains from the dot-com crash and the 2008 financial crisis.
* 2020s is partial (2020–2025). All figures are approximate total return .
Sector breakdown
How the index splits across the eleven standard GICS sectors. The bigger the bar, the larger the weight in the index.
Approximate end-2025 figures, returns in GBP
Top 10 holdings
The largest names in the index by weight. Together they make up a meaningful share of the whole, pay attention to concentration.
| # | Company | Ticker | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AstraZeneca | AZN | 8.5% |
| 2 | Shell | SHEL | 7.5% |
| 3 | HSBC Holdings | HSBA | 5.5% |
| 4 | Unilever | ULVR | 5.0% |
| 5 | BP | BP. | 3.5% |
| 6 | Rio Tinto | RIO | 3.0% |
| 7 | Diageo | DGE | 2.5% |
| 8 | Rolls-Royce | RR. | 2.5% |
| 9 | GSK | GSK | 2.5% |
| 10 | Glencore | GLEN | 2.0% |
ETFs that track it
The funds most long-term investors use to own this index. Lower are almost always better. Domicile matters for , UCITS funds are domiciled in Ireland (IE) for European investors, US-domiciled (US) for American ones.
| Ticker | Fund name | Provider | Domicile | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISF | iShares Core FTSE 100 UCITS ETF GBP Dist | BlackRock | IE | Dist | 0.07% |
| CUKX | iShares Core FTSE 100 UCITS ETF GBP Acc | BlackRock | IE | Acc | 0.07% |
| VUKE | Vanguard FTSE 100 UCITS ETF GBP Dist | Vanguard | IE | Dist | 0.09% |
Accumulating, are automatically reinvested inside the fund. You don't receive cash but the share price grows. Simpler for long-term and more tax-efficient in many European countries.
Distributing, are paid out to you as cash. You decide what to do with them, but you're also responsible for declaring and paying on each distribution. Common preference for investors who want regular income.
A bit of history
The FTSE 100 launched on 3 January 1984 and doubled in its first four years, driven by Margaret Thatcher's privatisation programme and financial deregulation (the "Big Bang" of 1986). Black Monday (October 1987) wiped 23% in a single day, the index recovered within two years. The dot-com (2000–2002) was less severe than for the Nasdaq because the FTSE had less tech exposure, but the 2008 financial hit hard (-28% in GBP). A notable feature of recent history: the FTSE 100 was the only major index to post positive returns in 2022 (+4.6% in GBP) as its heavy energy and mining exposure benefited from commodity price spikes. Brexit created persistent uncertainty from 2016 onward, contributing to the index's discount relative to US peers.
- + Among the cheapest indices to own, ISF and CUKX charge just 0.07% per year.
- + Extremely high yield (~3.5%), the highest of any major index here. Popular with income investors.
- + Heavy energy and materials exposure acted as a natural hedge in 2022 when tech sold off globally.
- + Global revenues in a domestic wrapper, ~75% of earnings come from outside the UK.
- − Only 2.2% IT, structural underweight in technology has been a persistent drag vs US indices.
- − Brexit uncertainty since 2016 has contributed to a persistent valuation discount vs European and US peers.
- − GBP : for EUR or USD investors, sterling movements add a significant layer of return .
- − Heavily concentrated in old-economy sectors: energy, mining, banking, tobacco, spirits.
- − Long-run total return lags the S&P 500 by a wide margin over any 20-year period.
All figures are approximate end-2025 values for educational illustration. Index composition, weights, holdings and returns change constantly. Nothing here is financial advice or a recommendation.