Yorkshire ISA Experiment: Can Local Companies Outperform the Market? 📈

The Yorkshire ISA Experiment to test whether the region’s listed companies can beat the market has passed through its first month – but the results so far are somewhat underwhelming.

The Yorkshire Post has launched a year-long experiment to track all 59 companies headquartered in the Yorkshire and Humber region which are listed on either the main or AIM markets – including the likes of Jet2, Card Factory and Persimmon.

Using the LSE’s excellent virtual portfolio tool, we've ‘bought’ a single share in each company and from the start of July began tracking their collective performance over the course of a year and comparing it to both the average savings rate for cash ISAs as well as the FTSE All-Share Index.

I want to see whether it is possible for Yorkshire to beat the market and if a ‘Yorkshire ISA’ would be worth establishing in real life – albeit using a simplistic method of equal backing for such a wide range of firms which is unlikely to be employed by anyone genuinely investing in the stock market.

However, as of market close on July 31, the ‘Yorkshire All-Share’ list I’ve created is down 3.93 per cent on its starting value, while in contrast the FTSE All-Share has risen 3.73 per cent. Meanwhile, according to Moneyfacts, the average cash savings rate stands at 3.51 per cent; a touch below the 3.52 per cent it started out at when the experiment began.

Read more about the experiment: https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/business/the-yorkshire-isa-experiment-our-test-to-see-if-regions-listed-companies-can-beat-the-market-5181207