FTSE Share Prices

The FTSE 250 is a member of the FTSE index family which also includes the FTSE 100, FTSE350, FTSE All Share and FTSE techMARK to name a few. The FTSE 250 lists the top 250 companies after the FTSE 100 index so it lists the companies from the 101st position to the 350th. Like the other FTSE indices it primarily operates on the London Stock Exchange and is a well know index throughout the world. The FTSE 250 was launched in Oct 1992, 8 years after the FTSE 100 launched in Feb 1984. According to the FTSE Index Company, the FTSE 250 accounts for 10.02% of the UK Market Capitalisation and as of the 30th September 08 has a value of £161 billion.

The FTSE 250 was designed to measure the performance of the mid-cap capital and industry segments of the UK market not covered by the FTSE 100. The stocks are free-float weighted to reflect the actual availability of stock in the market and that there is an investable opportunity after deducting the portion classified as restricted. The index is calculated in real time and end of day figures are available at 20.00 GMT. Promotions and demotions from the index take place four times a year in March, June, September and December.

The index is overseen by an independent committee of leading market professionals who work by a transparent and public set of index rules. They will ensure that they are correctly applied and adhered to; this is also monitored by regular index reviews that are conducted to ensure that a continuous and accurate reputation of the market is maintained.

The FTSE indices were originally a joint venture between the Financial Times (FT) and the London Stock Exchange (SE) which is where the name originated from but in 1995 the FTSE group was made an independent company and started opening offices around the world shortly after that. Starting in New York, there are now offices in Paris, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, San Francisco, Beijing, and Madrid.

The FTSE 250 includes companies such as Carphonewarehouse, Debenhams and Dominos pizza.