Investec's King: 7,000 is a lucky number

Max King, portfolio manager and strategist within Investec Asset Management's multi-asset team, discusses the outlook for the FTSE 100 index as it breaks through its 1999 high.

It is more than 15 years since the FTSE 100 index peaked at a little below the magic 7,000 level on Millennium eve, 1999. Professional investors will dismiss the significance of that peak; including reinvested dividends, the FTSE 100 reached a new high at the start of 2006 and has returned a compound 3.4% since the 1999 peak. In capital only terms, the S&P 500 reached a new peak in mid-2007 and the world index in sterling in mid 2011. While the FTSE 100 has struggled, the FTSE 250 index has multiplied 2.5 fold. Still, the FTSE 100 index for all its imperfections remains the yardstick by ...