How did the FTSE 250 index perform in the last 5 years?

The FTSE 250 index is a broader mid-cap gauge of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), which traces stock price movement in the top 250 medium-capitalised businesses listed and traded on the London bourse. Its constituents are more domestic in nature and are primarily exposed to domestic or internal risks factors — also, the benchmark in the true reflector of the UK’s economic health.

Interesting facts:

• FTSE 250 index surged from 15,915.29 level (as on January 15, 2015) to 21,713.11 (as on January 15, 2020), which reflects that the index bagged approximately 5,797.82 points or 27% over the past 5 years.
• Compounded Average Growth Rate (CAGR) return of approximately 4%. Approximately 5.3 times above the average 10-year UK Government Bond Yield of 1.18% during the same period.
• Tested a peak level of 22,114.26 and the lowest level of 14,915.64, during the period under consideration.
• In the same period, the FTSE 100 index surged approximately 0%, the relative outperformance of the mid-cap index FTSE 250 against the large-cap benchmark FTSE 100 is approximately 12%.
• Games Workshop Group PLC, Future PLC, Intermediate Capital Group PLC, Softcat PLC, Kainos Group PLC, and PPHE Hotel Group Ltd are among the top performers on the FTSE 250 index which turned out to be Multibaggers.
• Tullow Oil PLC, Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC, Provident Financial PLC, IP Group PLC, and Capita PLC are among the top laggards on the FTSE 250 index during the past 5-years.

The last five-years were tumultuous ones for the medium capitalization domestic stock index “FTSE 250”. During this period, it witnessed steep volatilities or ups and downs fuelled by a varied range of political and macro factors, but the impending effects of Brexit weighed heavily on the domestically exposed companies. The reason was that the Pound took a nosedive against the US greenback since the Brexit referendum took place in 2016.

5-year daily price chart of FTSE 250 and FTSE 100 (as on January 15, 2020). Source: Thomson Reuters.

However, despite steep volatility that the index experienced over the past, there are several stocks which delivered a gargantuan amount to wealth to their respective shareholders. Some of the companies which have multiplied investor's wealth over the past five years are mentioned below:

Games Workshop Group PLC (LON:GAW): The £2.20bn market-cap Games Workshop Group PLC has turned investors fortune over the past five years, as its shares have delivered a total return of 1,796.3% over the past five-years. It implies that, if £10000 invested in the Games Workshop Group PLC’s stocks five years-ago, it would worth £1,79,626.2 as of January 15, 2020. The 5-year CAGR multiplier to the initial £10,000 invested is 78%. The relative percentage outperformance of the GAW against FTSE 250 index was 1769.5% in absolute terms.

Future PLC (LON:FUTR): The United Kingdom-based Future PLC is a media group company, with an outstanding market capitalisation of £1.38bn. The stock of FUTR turned Multibagger in the past five years, as during the period it handed a humongous return of 901.7% (including dividend and capital appreciation) on absolute terms, which means, £10,000 invested in the company's stocks five-years before having worth £ 90,168.1 as on January 15, 2020, which reflects that the 5-year CAGR multiplier to the initial £10,000 invested is 55.2%. The relative percentage outperformance of the FUTR against the FTSE 250 index was 875.0% in absolute terms.

Intermediate Capital Group PLC (LON:ICP): The £4.82 bn market-cap Intermediate Capital Group PLC is the UK’s specialist asset manager. In the past 5-years, its shares have delivered a massive return of 466.2%, which suggests that £10,000 invested in ICP’s stocks would have worth £46,616.12 as on January 15, 2020. It implies that £10,000 invested initially has grown with a CAGR of 36.1%. The relative percentage outperformance of the ICP against the FTSE 250 index was 439.5% in absolute terms.

Softcat PLC (LON:SCT): London Stock Exchange-traded Softcat PLC (market cap £2.41 billion) is engaged in software & computer services and is based out in the UK. Over the past five years, its shares have handed approximately 425.5% return (including both dividend and capital appreciation) to its respective shareholders and turned out be a Multibagger at the same time. This shows that £10000 invested in SCT's stocks about five years ago, would have worth £42,549.85 as of January 15, 2020. The five-year CAGR multiplier of the SCT stock stood at 33.6%. Also, the relative percentage outperformance of the SCT’s shares against the FTSE 250 index is 398.8% in absolute terms.

Kainos Group PLC (LON:KNOS): The FTSE 250 index constituent company Kainos Group PLC (market cap £996.9 million) is engaged in providing digital services to its clients in a range of market, including government, healthcare and financial services. Over the past five-years, its stocks have proven to be a Multibagger, as a total return harvested the investors during the same period stood at 419.7% (including dividend and capital appreciation). This implies that £10,000 invested in KNOS’s stocks five-years ago would have worth approximately 41,965.13 as of January 15, 2020. This reflects a 33.2% CAGR multiplier to the initial £10,000 invested 5-years ago. The relative percentage outperformance of the ICP stocks against the FTSE 250 index was 392.9% in absolute terms.

Apart from these five stocks as mentioned above which have multiplied investors fortune over the past 5-years, there were another 173 stocks out of the portfolio of 250 companies, which have relatively surpassed the % return of the FTSE 250 index of 27% in the past five years. However, 49 portfolio stocks of the FTSE 250 index have traded in the negative zone in the same period with Tullow Oil PLC, Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC, and Provident Financial PLC among the major laggards.