Investors who are among those who have taken money out of UK equity funds this year may be kicking themselves as FTSE 100 heads for another record 12 months.
Analysis by AJ Bell shows the FTSE 100 is on track for its seventh best year ever, with its highest return since the aftermath of the global financial crisis – up 22.8% year-to-date including dividends.
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|
Year |
Total return |
|---|---|
|
2025 |
22.8% |
|
2024 |
9.7% |
|
2023 |
7.1% |
|
2022 |
4.4% |
|
2021 |
18.4% |
|
2020 |
-11.5% |
|
2019 |
17.3% |
|
2018 |
-8.7% |
|
2017 |
12.3% |
|
2016 |
19.1% |
Source: AJ Bell, LSEG. Total return. 2025 data to market close on 1 December.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, comments: “There may therefore be a lot of people kicking themselves that they’d taken money out of the UK market. The year has been full of stories about sustained net outflows from UK funds, which is a surprise given the headline performance of the FTSE 100.
“This year’s success for the blue-chip index is not a flash in the pan. The FTSE 100 has delivered positive returns in eight of the past 10 years, averaging 9.1% annually over that period including dividends. This kind of performance reinforces the attraction of investing over the long term. There may be years when performance disappoints, but history suggests it’s worth pursuing.”
Here are the stocks that have performed best on the FTSE 100 in 2025.
Best and worst performing FTSE 100 stocks for 2025
Traditional sectors such as mining, metals, financials and defence have been the main drivers of the FTSE 100’s performance in 2025.
Metals producer Fresnillio has had a golden year, returning 364%, while mobile money service Airtel Africa has returned 179%.
Rolls-Royce has ranked among the top performers for the third year in a row, which Coatsworth said is helped by positive market sentiment towards anything linked to the defence sector.
Meanwhile, with a total return of 80%, Lloyds Bank’s share price is performing just as well as many technology stocks across the pond in the US.
|
Company |
Total return |
|---|---|
|
Fresnillo |
364% |
|
Airtel Africa |
179% |
|
Endeavour Mining |
160% |
|
Babcock |
121% |
|
Rolls-Royce |
84% |
|
Lloyds |
80% |
|
Antofagasta |
79% |
|
Prudential |
74% |
|
Standard Chartered |
73% |
|
Barclays |
63% |
Source: AJ Bell, ShareScope. Data to market close on 1 December 2025. Total return including dividends.
There have been some pretty poor performers this year though, which may be deterring investors from the wider market.
Media group WPP has seen its total share price return fall 60% year-to-date, while distributor and outsourcing brand Bunzl is down 31%.
Drinks brand Diageo appears to have been hit by Trump tariffs as well as changing consumer tastes, pushing its share price down 28%.
Even while UK shares have done well, it’s somewhat ironic that the country’s leading stock exchange operator the London Stock Exchange Group is one of the worst FTSE 100 performers – down 21%.
|
Company |
Total return |
|
WPP |
-60% |
|
Bunzl |
-31% |
|
Diageo |
-28% |
|
Mondi |
-23% |
|
London Stock Exchange Group |
-21% |
|
Pearson |
-20% |
|
Auto Trader |
-19% |
|
JD Sports Fashion |
-18% |
|
Hikma Pharmaceuticals |
-18% |
|
Croda |
-16% |
Source: AJ Bell, ShareScope. Data to market close on 1 December 2025. Total return including dividends.
Coatsworth attributed this to struggles to get companies to list in London as well as competition from AI for data.
He added: “Three quarters of the FTSE 100 delivered a positive total return in 2025.
“Fifteen names returned more than 50% including retailer Next, miniature fantasy figures maker Games Workshop and copper miner Antofagasta. Nine out of the top 20 best performing stocks in the FTSE 100 were in the broader financials sector, covering banks, insurers and asset managers.
“The number of true howlers was small, led by media group WPP, distribution business Bunzl and drinks group Diageo. It was also a bad year for packaging group Mondi and car portal Auto Trader, among others.”
