What Is the FTSE 100? Sectors, Yield, Currency Mix
Your FTSE 100 tracker is not really a bet on the UK economy. Most of its revenue is earned abroad. Once you see what it actually owns, the underperformance starts to make sense.
FTSE 100 sector weights 2026
Source: FTSE Russell. The FTSE 100 is a basket of old-economy multinationals - around 75-80% of revenue is earned overseas.
Key takeaways
The FTSE 100 tracks the 100 largest companies on the London Stock Exchange by market cap, but around 75-80% of their revenue is earned outside the UK.
The index is heavy on energy, banks, miners, healthcare and consumer staples. It has almost no exposure to global technology.
It pays a dividend yield of 3.5-4.5%, well above the S&P 500 (1.3-1.5%) or MSCI World (1.7%), making it a favourite for income-focused portfolios.
The FTSE 100 has lagged the S&P 500 dramatically since 2010, but that recent gap is not a forecast and the index has its own structural strengths worth owning.