how to invest in a plc
as public companies any retail investor in the united kingdom can buy shares in a plc the simplest way to do so is through a brokerage the investor can simply create an account transfer money and buy shares of the company it is also to buy shares through a retirement account so some people may own plc shares without even knowing about it this may be more complicated for investors outside the united kingdom many u s brokerages allow their clients to directly buy shares in foreign markets exchanging dollars into local currency to make the purchase in addition many u k companies are tradable in american markets in the form of american depositary receipts the downside is that the investor would assume an additional level of currency risk examples of plcsall of the companies listed on the london stock exchange are by definition plcs the fashion retailer burberry is burberry group plc rolls royce is rolls royce holdings plc the 100 largest plcs on the london stock exchange are grouped together in an index called the financial times stock exchange 100 ftse 100 or colloquially the footsie the companies in this group are representative of the united kingdom s economy as a whole the footsie is comparable to the dow jones industrial average djia in the u s the biggest plcs by market capitalization in the footsie as of april 2024 included shell hsbc and astrazeneca 11the formal names of all of these companies include the plc designation not all plcs are listed on a stock exchange a company may choose not to list on an exchange or may not meet the requirements for listing 