Happy Bonfire Night! So far, 2021 has been pretty good to the FTSE 100. Since Bonfire Night 2020 (when we were locked down), the Footsie has added over 1,400 points. As I write, it sits at 7,312.28 points, up almost a quarter (+23.7%) in a year. But, as you’d expect, some Footsie stocks have done much better than others.
The FTSE 100 has a great year
Last year, the FTSE 100 was down in the dumps, but then came ‘Vaccine Monday’ (9 November 2020). On this uplifting day, co-developers Pfizer and BioNTech revealed a Covid-19 vaccine that was 90% effective. This milestone was, quite literally, the shot in the arm that humanity needed. Hence, global stock markets soared.
As well as surging 23.7% over one year, the FTSE 100 has turned positive over various timescales. It’s up by 1% in a week, 3.3% in a month, and 2.8% over three months. It has also gained 3.8% over three months and leapt by 13.3% in 2021. So far, so good.
Despite this positive rebound, the FTSE 100 has underperformed the go-go S&P 500 index. The main US market index is up by 8.5% in the past month and 13.1% over six months. It has also jumped by more than a quarter (+24.5%) in 2021 and surged by more than third (+34.3%) over one year. Go, America!
The FTSE 100’s biggest winners over one year
Of the 99 stocks in the FTSE 100 for an entire year, 84 have gained in value since Bonfire Night 2020. The biggest rise was a whopping 118.1%, while the smallest increase was a mere 0.5%. The average gain across all 84 winners was 37.6%. At the other end of the scale lie 15 FTSE 100 losers. Losses from these laggards range from a tiny 0.1% to an unpleasant 30.8%. The average loss across all 15 slumpers was 12%.
Now let’s find the Footsie’s biggest winners over the past year. Here are the top five (sorted in gain order), all of which have thrashed the wider index:
| Company | Sector | 12-mth gain |
| Meggitt | Aerospace & defence | +152.1 |
| Glencore | Mining & commodity trading | +118.1 |
| Ashtead Group | Equipment rental | +114.0 |
| Entain | Gambling & betting | +106.2 |
| Intermediate Capital Group | Asset management | +77.9 |
As you can see, the biggest winner is aerospace, defence, and electronics engineer Meggitt (+152.1%). Its shares soared in August on news of takeover bids from two US-based rivals. In second place is miner and commodity trader Glencore (+118.1%), which has benefited from surging metals prices. Third is Ashtead Group (+114%), a leading supplier of rented industrial equipment. In fourth place stands Entain (+106.2%), one of the UK’s biggest betting and gambling companies. And fifth is Intermediate Capital Group (+77.9%), a global alternative asset manager in private debt, credit, and equity.
I’d buy one of these winning stocks today
Four of these five FTSE 100 winners have produced triple-digit returns, while the fifth has tripled the index’s one-year return. Meanwhile, the average return across these top five winners is a bumper 113.6%. Very nice indeed for owners of these skyrocketing stocks.
Of course, there is no guarantee that these FTSE 100 stocks’ outstanding performances over 12 months will continue into 2022. Nevertheless, I like the look of one of these shares: Intermediate Capital Group, which I don’t own as yet. I wrote about ICG on 6 September, since when its shares have crept up by 2.8% to trade at 2,284p. If financial markets continue to boom, then ICG’s stock could keep rising. But if global markets crash, then so too might this market-beating winner!
