So, the FTSE finally managed to get over the 6000 mark as the US Fiscal Cliff part agreement euphoria took hold and now has a little daylight as it is just below 6100. It did get to 6000 back in 1998, spending much of 1999 and 2000 above this level, looking like it might even get to 7000 at one stage, but not to be. 7000 still looks a long way off. For most of the last decade the index has been up and down, spending most of the last 4 years regaining the lost ground brought on by the financial crisis.
What has changed quite a lot over that time is the make up of the index itself and this is something that isn't talked about as much, often giving the false impression that the index is somewhat fixed in terms of its constituents. The index itself can potentially change every quarter depending on the cap value of the lowest FTSE100 compared to the top cap values of those in the FTSE250. One of those recently promoted was Melrose, while companies like Man Group have dropped out in the last year.
What did the index look like in 1999?
Well here's 19 companies that are no longer, at least in the name they once had, part of the FTSE100. They are in the FTSE250, vanished through a merger, been taken over (some by other FTSE100 companies), been taken private or simply died a death, perhaps the biggest disaster being the first on the list as Marconi went from a market cap of £29 billion to nothing.
Marconi
Bank of Scotland
Colt Telecom
Cable and Wireless
Abbey National
Amvescap
Halifax
Hays
Dixons
Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation
Bass
Rentokil
Logica
CMG
Misys
BOC Group
Boots
Railtrack
Corus
For buy and hold investors some of the 1999 big names on this list suggest that you should never just buy and forget.
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