Share Ownership
Foreign investors remain the largest holders of UK shares
Beneficial Ownership of UK shares: end-2008
Investors from outside the UK owned 41.5 per cent of shares listed on the London Stock Exchange at the end of 2008, up from 40.0 per cent at end of 2006, according to the latest Office for National Statistics report on share ownership.
Rest of the world investors held £481.1 billion of UK shares, of which investors in Europe held £163.6 billion (34 per cent) whilst investors in North America held £144.3 billion (30 per cent).
Holdings by other sectors include insurance companies with £154.9 billion (13.4 per cent) and pension funds with £148.8 billion (12.8 per cent). The combined holdings of these two sectors are at the lowest level, in percentage terms, since 1975.
Individuals in the UK held £117.8 billion of shares (10.2 per cent), the lowest proportion recorded in the history of the survey, which began in 1963.
Overall, the UK stock market was valued at £1,158.4 billion at the end of 2008, a decrease of almost £700 billion (37.7 per cent) since the previous survey was published for end of 2006 holdings.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Share Ownership 2008.
'Ordinary shares' are the most common type of share in the ownership of a corporation. Holders of ordinary shares receive dividends.
Rest of world investors are equivalent to foreign investors.
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Share Ownership Report