Here are the official 2024 earnings of the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 (including dividends)

I FTSE 100 as well as FTSE 250 closely followed by UK stock market indices. Many British investors have gained exposure to them through tracker/index funds.

Interested in knowing how these indicators performed in 2024? Here’s a look at their annual total benefits (benefits and benefits).

Statistics

Earlier this week, FTSE Russell published its fact sheet for the FTSE UK series. And the performance figures were interesting.

In 2024, the FTSE 100 delivered a total return of 9.7%. This was its best performance since 2021 when the major index returned 18.4%.

As for the mid-cap FTSE 250, it delivered a modest return of 8.1%. However, this was also its best performance since 2021 when it returned 16.9%.

Another observation

Looking at these statistics, I have several thoughts.

First, the indicators produced a decent performance in 2024. Over the long term, the stock market tends to return about 7%-10% per year on average. Last year, both indexes delivered that return.

That said, these figures are a little disappointing when compared to the percentages of other major stock market indices held. In the US, the S&P 500 delivered by 25% overall. For now, for the Nasdaq 100 it was 25.9% (both in dollars). This shows the importance of global diversification when investing in stocks. By taking a global approach, the British investor is likely to generate more wealth.

Second, benefits played a major role in these calculations. I calculate that in price terms, the FTSE 100 is up 5.7% for the year while the FTSE 250 is up 4.7%, so gains have boosted overall performance significantly.

Another takeaway is that the FTSE 250 underperformed the FTSE 100 by a respectable margin. Clearly, the domestic concentration of the FTSE 250 is hurting its performance. While FTSE 100 companies tend to have global revenues, FTSE 250 companies tend to be more UK-focused. Again, this highlights the importance of global diversity.

Building a global portfolio

It is worth pointing out that it is very easy to build a global portfolio today.

One simple option that you can consider is a global tracker bag like iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF (LSE: SWDA). With this exchange traded fund (ETF), one gets exposure to around 1,400 stocks from various countries including the US, UK, Japan, Australia, France, and Germany.

Among these stocks are names like these an apple, Microsoftagain Amazon. In other words, it provides access to world-class businesses.

In terms of performance, this ETF returned 18.7% last year (in dollar terms), which is pretty good. Over the five-year period until the end of 2024, it has generated a return of 11.2% per annum. These figures do not include trading fees and platform costs. And as always, past performance is no indicator of future returns.

It’s worth pointing out that there are some risks to consider with a product like this. One is that it has a lot of exposure to the US market (about 74% currently). Another is that it trades in US dollars. GBP/USD volatility can therefore impact returns for UK investors.

I think this ETF would be a good base for portfolio consideration though. I like the idea of ​​having this as a core asset and then buying high quality stocks like this Nvidia or Uber trying to maximize long-term benefits.