The FT 30 (''FT Ordinary Index'' or ''FTOI'', not "FTSE 30") is a now rarely used
index
Index (or its plural form indices) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index''
* The Index, an item on a Halo megastru ...
that is similar to the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.
The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity inde ...
. As an index of stocks to represent the real trends on the market, the FT 30 has been superseded by the
FTSE 100
The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with (in principle) the highest marke ...
, which was introduced in 1984.
Background
The purpose of the FT 30 was to give a selection of stocks, which capture the range and essence of UK companies. The index was devised in 1935 by
Maurice Green and Otto Clarke of the ''
Financial News
''Financial News'' is a financial newspaper and news website published in London. It is a weekly newspaper, published by eFinancial News Limited, covering the financial services sector through news, views and extensive people coverage. ''Fi ...
'' and was termed the "''Financial News'' 30-share index" until that paper merged with the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' in 1945.
[Green, (James) Maurice Spurgeon]
, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'' The companies listed in the index are made up of those in the industrial and commercial sectors. It excludes government stocks, and used to exclude financial sector (banks, insurance, etc.).
[See ''The Post-War History of the London Stock Market'', ]
The FT 30 index was calculated using the
geometric mean
In mathematics, the geometric mean is a mean or average which indicates a central tendency of a set of numbers by using the product of their values (as opposed to the arithmetic mean which uses their sum). The geometric mean is defined as the ...
.
[The Financial System Today, by Eric E. Rowley. (Manchester University Press, 1987)]
As Rowley states, this had the effect of understating movements in the index compared to using the arithmetic mean; and there are circumstances where this is undesirable.
[
]
List of FT 30 companies
See also
* UK company law
The United Kingdom company law regulates corporations formed under the Companies Act 2006. Also governed by the Insolvency Act 1986, the UK Corporate Governance Code, European Union Directives and court cases, the company is the primary lega ...
* FTSE 100
The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with (in principle) the highest marke ...
* FTSE 250
The FTSE 250 Index ( "Footsie") is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions and demotions to and from the index occur quarterly in March, June, Septem ...
References
Further reading
* ''Oxford Dictionary of Finance and Banking'',
* Berger, D. & Jackson, B. ; ''The Motley Fool UK Investment Workbook'',
External links
FT.com - FT 30 info
{{UK Stock market indexes
British stock market indices
1935 introductions