What do you think?
Rate this book
FTSE: The inside story of the deals, dramas and politics that revolutionized financial markets
Description
A RINGSIDE SEAT ON SOME OF THE BIGGEST DEALS AND BIGGEST PERSONALITIES IN BUSINESS AND GLOBAL POLITICS.
FTSE is an account of how a small start-up created by the Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange launched in the mid 1980s to provide financial information, became a world leader and one of the UK's most trusted and famous brands. It chronicles how the FTSE 100 was born and details the ferocious dealmaking that followed over 35 years of market boom and bust. It provides a ringside seat on some of the biggest deals and biggest personalities in business and global politics. There have been behind-the-scenes rows with chief executives of some of the world's largest companies, political in-fighting, diplomatic incidents, and even controversy over a pioneering push into responsible investing that began life as a conversation with James Bond actor Roger Moore.
FTSE is a modern British brand recognised the world over, like the Royal Family, the BBC or Sir Richard Branson's Virgin empire. They are just four letters on an electronic ticker tape, but FTSE has become a byword for money, power, influence and - crucially after numerous financial crises - trust. How this organisation, FTSE International, brought order to the financial system over several decades is a story of how capitalism globalised and a data revolution transformed the investment industry. It is a story of how a team of British innovators seized an opportunity to build a business that today leads its field and guides the fortunes of an astonishing $16 trillion of funds. It is a story that Mark Makepeace, as the founding Chief Executive of FTSE International, knows better than anybody.
299 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 12, 2020
28 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 1, 2024
This had a good balance between going into the history of FTSE and giving an overview of the economic environment of the time. Given the nature of the company, this is crucial to understanding how they grew the way that they did.
November 28, 2021
FTSE was at the forefront of creating the financial indexing industry, which now powers a multi-trillion dollar passive investing business. This is the ultimate insider story behind its establishment and development.
May 3, 2021
Informative history of FTSE, it's rivalry with MSCI, Russell, S&P and the development of index trackers generally and their role in the mutual funds revolution (Vanguard) and ETF explosion (iShares). Outlines how these companies came to play an increasingly large role in modern stock listings and allocation of superannuation and pension funds. The rise of China and XIN (joint index with Xinhua), the Eastern European metal resources boom, and the development of ethical investment with FTSE4Good and the surprising role played by milk substitutes are outlined in pleasingly structured chapters. Surprisingly interesting and very informative about an influential yet largely anonymous industry.
January 10, 2023
Totally gripping story told by the person who masterminded it
Some brilliant stories behind The City and the world of international finance
This is the tale of how data has transformed the world. It’s a thrilling story. It also shares the sense of the collaborative nature of success.
Most importantly it demonstrates that people are at the centre of innovation: the story of how Roger Moore inspired FTSE to develop a partnership with UNICEF and which pioneered work around sustainability and ESG is remarkably personal.
Recommended
Some brilliant stories behind The City and the world of international finance
This is the tale of how data has transformed the world. It’s a thrilling story. It also shares the sense of the collaborative nature of success.
Most importantly it demonstrates that people are at the centre of innovation: the story of how Roger Moore inspired FTSE to develop a partnership with UNICEF and which pioneered work around sustainability and ESG is remarkably personal.
Recommended
September 3, 2022
Fabulous compendium on evolution of indexing as an industry. Indices seem ubiquitous now but there was a time when people struggled to find an efficient solution to montior market, and Mark walks us through the journey of it in this book.
Although now, the industry seems overly crowded but it is surely an interesting space to track for next few decades!
Although now, the industry seems overly crowded but it is surely an interesting space to track for next few decades!
December 20, 2020
A bit dry, but a very thorough overview of how the FTSE was created and run for 30 years. Interesting!
January 11, 2021
Very factual with a great insight into the FTSE and how Mark along with others made FTSE international what it is today.
January 2, 2023
Inside view of the financial markets, has it’s flaws but in the end is somewhat of an autobiography of Makepeace.
January 30, 2025
The worst narration for a financial book in a long, long time. This book bored me to death and even after reading 100 pages, I can’t even register what the author tried to say. Terrible
August 31, 2024
Book written by the CEO of FTSE, follows how the FTSE came into being, how it's evolved , how it's expanded globally, been impacted by crises e.g. libor. Okay but bit bland
January 4, 2024
A good book written by a very successful individual (Mark Makepeace)
FTSE was created in 1984 - with what Mark Makepeace’s its founder described - as having very low exceptions. It can however trace its very original roots back to 1935 when the Financial Times created its first index called the FT30. FTSE was created after the LSE purchased the rights from the financial times. A lot of bickering between the FT and LSEG about what to name the new company, a fact made more complicated that the FT bought out the “Financial News” paper and still had considerable sway of the FT at that time. Mark covers the creation of the London International Financial & Options Exchange (LIFFE) and how that opened the door to the Big Bang in the mid 1980. It sets a precedent for today’s policy makers - who talk about the Big Bang today to little effect.
During his time running FTSE - Mark had huge influence on whether to allow companies to join the FTSE 100, and talks about his time working with the likes of Glencore on their IPO. In essence he was the gatekeeper to the FTSE 100. Passive Funds have had huge impact on indexes with Mark spending a lot of time building relationships with the likes of Vanguard (Jack Bogle chose its name after being inspired by HMS Vanguard). One piece of advice he gives when dealing with countries (he met the Saudi Prince when discussing Aramco) is to meet with the local brokers and fund manager to understand their way of working. You also learn a lot more!
Mark also details the amusing backlash about the FTSE4GOOD index (inspired by a chance meeting with Rodger Moore who was working with Unicef at the time) which saw Sir Nigel Rudd kick up a fuss, and Sainsbury’s beat Tescso into the index which ensued a large marketing campaign.
Finally - Mark talks about the future which he believes will see:
1. Direct indexing - (where funds create their own specialised indexes). I foresee problems with that because then Funds will create indexes with very low benchmarks - making their performance look better than it is
2. Indexation will grow, i.e passive funds and therefore correlation.
3. Public markets will shrink globally - and private markets will continue to grow in size and importance.
4. Transparency and integrity will underpin the best indexes - just like the FTSE.
FTSE was created in 1984 - with what Mark Makepeace’s its founder described - as having very low exceptions. It can however trace its very original roots back to 1935 when the Financial Times created its first index called the FT30. FTSE was created after the LSE purchased the rights from the financial times. A lot of bickering between the FT and LSEG about what to name the new company, a fact made more complicated that the FT bought out the “Financial News” paper and still had considerable sway of the FT at that time. Mark covers the creation of the London International Financial & Options Exchange (LIFFE) and how that opened the door to the Big Bang in the mid 1980. It sets a precedent for today’s policy makers - who talk about the Big Bang today to little effect.
During his time running FTSE - Mark had huge influence on whether to allow companies to join the FTSE 100, and talks about his time working with the likes of Glencore on their IPO. In essence he was the gatekeeper to the FTSE 100. Passive Funds have had huge impact on indexes with Mark spending a lot of time building relationships with the likes of Vanguard (Jack Bogle chose its name after being inspired by HMS Vanguard). One piece of advice he gives when dealing with countries (he met the Saudi Prince when discussing Aramco) is to meet with the local brokers and fund manager to understand their way of working. You also learn a lot more!
Mark also details the amusing backlash about the FTSE4GOOD index (inspired by a chance meeting with Rodger Moore who was working with Unicef at the time) which saw Sir Nigel Rudd kick up a fuss, and Sainsbury’s beat Tescso into the index which ensued a large marketing campaign.
Finally - Mark talks about the future which he believes will see:
1. Direct indexing - (where funds create their own specialised indexes). I foresee problems with that because then Funds will create indexes with very low benchmarks - making their performance look better than it is
2. Indexation will grow, i.e passive funds and therefore correlation.
3. Public markets will shrink globally - and private markets will continue to grow in size and importance.
4. Transparency and integrity will underpin the best indexes - just like the FTSE.
January 23, 2025
Admittedly, part of my enjoyment is that it is one of those rare books that talks about indices themselves and not investing in general. Index history is something relevant to my field of work, so reading this is as much educational as entertaining. "Inside story" may be a tad hyperbolic, but it was interesting to hear how indices developed and how the index rivalry appeared from one participant.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews