Contradictory Rationale For FT500 List of Companies

T

trajan

Registered User
Messages
295
Maybe people here see what I can't see.

The FT500 is supposed to list the biggest by market capitalization companies in the world's stock exchanges.
So why is Rolls-Royce on it when their mkt cap is just £8.64 B = $11.84 B when CRH is worth $35.2 B and not in the FT500 ?

It's hard to believe that Rolls-Royce is being elevated to the elite club by the FT editors (under subtle pressure from the UK government) just to ensure major funds continue to buy it or at least don't drop it. That would be as counterproductive as praising a low-performing child in the hope that emotional support alone would stimulate them.

What am I missing here ?
 
I don’t know of any index fund that tracks the FT500 so I would suggest that its composition is not a matter of any substantive concern.
 
Last edited:
trajan said:
What am I missing here ?
Click to expand...

Facts for a start off.

The FTSE indices have nothing to do with the Financial Times any more - and haven't for a while. They are owned by the London Stock Exchange

The criteria for inclusion in an index include market cap but are not exclusively market cap

Rolls Royce is a part of the FTSE100 index. But so is CRH. I'm not familiar with a "FTSE 500". Do you have a link or the full name
 
Sarenco said:
I don’t know of any index fund that tracks the FT500 so I would suggest that its composition is not a matter of any substantive concern.
Click to expand...

Then I wonder why they bother with such semi-relevant data . . . not like the usual FT, is it?
 
@EmmDee

I made it clear that this was hardly what I thought FT were doing as it would produce the very opposite effect.
Thus there must be some other criterion for the inclusion of RR in the FT500, maybe some of the stock is not available publicly or whatnot.

Most people would find FT in a whole different league to Fortune mag. Not only in terms of range of data, depth of analysis and global coverage. But also in terms of the viewpoint of its editorship - which is far more society oriented than the get myself rich approach of Fortune readers.
 
I think they stopped updating the list back in 2015, so it's based on the 'top' companies back then. No Alibaba for example, and RR was worth about 3 times more, while CRH has doubled.

I could be wrong. It's not something that gets much attention anymore but used to get a bit of fanfare when it was updated annually.
 
Don't you buy the Financial Times newspaper ?

They print the entire FT500 list over a half-page, their home exchanges/home market plus yesterday's price change data, 12-month high/low, yield, P/E and mkt cap. The prices and derived data quoted for the FT500 listed businesses are those of closing prices the day before the FT issue day - what they should be if it's to be meaningful to readers.
So it is there for more than archive purposes, albeit that it must be a challenge to the eyesight of all over-50s just to read it ;)
 
RedOnion said:
I think they stopped updating the list back in 2015, so it's based on the 'top' companies back then. No Alibaba for example, and RR was worth about 3 times more, while CRH has doubled.

I could be wrong. It's not something that gets much attention anymore but used to get a bit of fanfare when it was updated annually.
Click to expand...

This is the only way to explain it.
I see some Venezuelan banks there too - they must be in a bad state now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top