As I write, there just three trading days remain for the London stock market in 2023. Unfortunately, it’s hardly been a great year for the blue-chip FTSE 100 and other UK market indices.
For the record, the Footsie has gained 2.7% over the past year, excluding dividends. Meanwhile, the mid-cap FTSE 250 index has done slightly better, adding 4% since 28 December 2022. And it’s a similar story for small-caps.
A mixed bag of returns
Of course, even though an index has produced a weak performance, some of its constituent shares may have performed extremely well.
Indeed, of 100 shares in the Footsie, 69 have gained in value over the last 12 months (with one stock unchanged). These gains range from nearly 232% to almost zero, with the average gain being a tidy 27.3%.
This leaves 30 losers, whose declines range from 0.4% to painfully close to 40%. The average loss among these FTSE laggards is 14.5%.
Hence, although most blue-chip shares have produced positive returns this year, outsized falls among some mega-cap companies have held back the wider index.
The FTSE 100’s stars
Time to reveal the five top-performing stocks in the UK’s elite index over the past year. Here they are, sorted from largest to smallest gain:
| Company | Sector | One-year change | Five-year change |
| Rolls-Royce Holdings | Aerospace and defence | 231.9% | 9.6% |
| Marks & Spencer Group | Retailing | 126.6% | 9.6% |
| 3i Group | Private equity | 83.3% | 213.0% |
| Sage Group | Enterprise software | 57.8% | 100.1% |
| Associated British Foods | Retailing and food processing | 50.8% | 11.7% |
The fab five
My table shows that storied engineering firm Rolls-Royce Holdings has delivered the biggest gain for shareholders since 28 December 2022. Then again, its shares are up less than 10% over five years, having been hammered hard during the coronavirus crisis of 2020-21.
Second place goes to Marks & Spencer Group, one-time favourite retailer of Britain’s middle classes. Following a successful turnaround strategy, M&S returned to the FTSE 100 in August, four years after being relegated. However, M&S stock is also up less than 10% over a half-decade.
The bronze medal goes to private-equity firm 3i Group, whose shares have consistently beaten the wider index over long periods. Coincidentally, with a 213% gain over five years, 3i stock is also the index’s third-best winner over this period.
In fourth place is Newcastle-based software supplier Sage Group, whose shares are up just short of 58% in 12 months. And they’ve also thrashed the wider index over five years, having almost exactly doubled, versus a 14.3% rise for the FTSE 100.
Fifth and final place goes top Associated British Foods, owner of popular high-street chain Primark, as well as various food and grocery businesses. However, while its shares have thrashed the index over one year, they’ve fallen behind the market over five.
Two for my watchlist
Though my wife and I have 15 different FTSE 100 shareholdings, we own none of my fab five above. However, I’d like to add more UK growth stocks to our value-heavy family portfolio.
For their long-term outperformance of the UK market, I like the look of 3i and Sage. Hence, I’ve added both shares to my growing watchlist of top stocks for 2024!
