Since its launch in 1984, the relative value and structure of the largest 100 firms in the UK has changed materially. UK investors have done slightly worse than broad developed equity investors over that time, although a lot of that has been driven by the recent returns of the Magnificent 7 US Tech stocks - this is the latest nickname given to some of the largest firms in the world, replacing the FAANGs or Big Five as we have written about previously.
Around 1/3rd of the original 100 firms remain after taking account of the various mergers and acquisitions. That is a large amount of change in a period of 40-years and demonstrates one of the many challenges for the active manager - which companies will be around for the next 40-years? Picking incorrectly can be extremely costly - the magnificent are unlikely to stay magnificent forever, diversify broadly!
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