Here’s what an investor could have after buying the top 5 FTSE 100 shares in 2024 with a £20k ISA

Hargreaves Lansdown has released a list of the best performers of the year FTSE 100 shares, and there are some real surprises there.

Who would have thought NatWest Group could it be the best performing UK blue-chip of 2024? The bank’s shares took off around March and have been flying ever since. NatWest’s share price is up 88% year to date but the total return is 101%, including reinvested dividends.

It is placed second Company Rolls-Royce Holdings it’s impressive. After the blockbuster 2023, when its shares rose by 227%, I felt that the jet fuel should run out. But it went up another 90%, and with a repatriated dividend (albeit at a lower level) investors got a total return of 94%.

These green chips have shattered the market

There’s a real under-the-radar stock in third place: DS Smith (LSE: SMDS). Its shares are up 78%, with a total return of 84% if dividends are thrown.

I last checked the paper and packaging specialist on 21 November last year. Its shares have fallen 25% in two years as the cost-of-living crisis hits e-commerce so it wants its cardboard boxes.

With a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 6.2 and a yield of 6.2%, I declared that I would buy DS Smith if I didn’t have a sector competitor. Smurfit Kappa.

What I didn’t see was that DS Smith’s share price would rise because of the proposed merger with the US heavyweight. International Paper Company.

Susannah Streeter at Hargreaves Lansdown said the positive half-year results amid challenging conditions also helped: “DS Smith is also making much higher cost savings than investors expected, with an increased chance of profitability.”

Streeter added: “Volumes are showing signs of recovery and the integration with IPC will mean it can do more effectively by combining plants and sharing technology.”

We can’t expect DS Smith to repeat its blockbuster success in 2025. With a high P/E of 16.45 times and a low yield of 3.34%, I missed my chance. So it goes.

My modest portfolio is still beating the market

Owner of British Airways AG it’s one that ran away. Its shares are up 81%, and the returned dividend boosted total return to 83%. That is the fourth best performance in the FTSE 100.

Barclays it is in fifth place. Its shares are up 73% with a net profit of 81%. Sadly, my choice of field was Lloyds Banking Groupwhich shot itself in the foot due to the car finance scandal.

Now let’s imagine that an experienced investor had invested £20,000 in a Stocks and Shares ISA in these five heroes right at the start of 2024, putting away £4k each. Today, they will receive a total of £37,720. That’s an 88.6% return!

That investor may not be there (or maybe they are). The chances of picking the only winners every year are slim to zero. I have none of these five, sadly, but my portfolio is still up about 20% this year. That’s almost double the return of the FTSE 100 tracker, and smashes the 4% or so I’d likely earn in cash and bonds. That’s why I buy individual stocks. Now open 2025.