# UK Stock Market Shrinks to 3% Global Share

> UK stock market's global share fell from 10% to 3% as growth stocks vanish and takeovers surge.
- Title: UK Stock Market Shrinks to 3% Global Share · MoneyWeek
- Summary: UK stock market's global share fell from 10% to 3% as growth stocks vanish and takeovers surge. UK stock market now represents 3% of global markets after…
- Keywords: uk stock market, ftse 100, growth stocks, takeovers, stock market share, dividend tax, pension funds, capital allocation, Stock, Market, Shrinks, Global
- Source: MoneyWeek — https://moneyweek.com/investments/uk-stock-markets/whats-wrong-with-the-uk-stock-market
- Published: 2026-10-24T06:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: uk stock market, ftse 100, growth stocks, takeovers, stock market share, dividend tax, pension funds, capital allocation
## UK Stock Market's Global Share
In 2000, the UK stock market was the second largest globally, accounting for 10% of the total. Now it constitutes just 3%.
## Absence of Growth Stocks
Technology accounts for just 1% of the All-Share index, with no new flotations or issuance from existing companies.
## Takeover Surge
Six FTSE 100 firms disappeared through takeovers this year, including Schroders, Intertek, Beazley, DCC, easyJet, and Segro.
## Global Market Comparison
North America raised $138 billion in the first half of 2026, including $86 billion from SpaceX, while the UK raised just £577 million.
## Tax and Regulatory Shifts
Gordon Brown's first Budget removed dividend tax credits worth £5 billion annually, pushing companies into private equity or foreign ownership.
## Pension Fund Impact
Pension regulators pushed funds to reduce equity exposure, with solvency rules after the 2008 crisis removing insurance firms from equity markets.
## Capital Allocation Problem
Julia Hoggett, CEO of the London Stock Exchange, says the UK has a capital-allocation problem, not an innovation problem.

> we don't have an innovation problem, we have a capital-allocation problem
## Passive Funds Dominance
More than 50% of UK-listed company shares are owned by passive funds that take no interest in the companies.
## Market Shrinkage
The Wilshire 5000 index in the US has shrunk to 3,500 companies from a peak of 7,500 in the late 1990s, mirroring the UK trend.
## Recent Market Flows
Only one month of inflows into UK equity funds since July 2021, with outflows of £561 million in June, £1.6 billion in July, and £615 million in August.
## Long-Term Challenges
Changing the UK's anti-equity investment culture requires a generation, with no quick fixes for market recovery.
## Key takeaway

UK stock market now represents 3% of global markets after losing growth stocks and facing takeovers.