SET Small cap vs., Large cap comparisons

PaulRen's picture
Category: 
Industry

 

After over 35 years of SET, where are the smaller Cap SET indexes showing historical performance? I searched and found.

In the not recent past I often complained to the SET asking why they do not publish a Thai small cap index?  Why do we have 3 larger cap indexes (SET, SET50, and SET100), but still no small cap index here? I do mean the MAI index, but an index which shows performance of say the smallest 100 stocks listed on the SET.  Or something like that. No answer ever received. 

Seems like the same decades' old story that neither brokers, not the SET exchange wants to show how these smaller cap stocks perform over time, or as compared to large cap.s. Why?

Yet, at the below SET link you can see a number of SET indexes, including a newer small one called FSTHS (SET small index), it does not provide graphing or historical prices, so one can only see, what these did, just that day. Its calls this the “FSTHS stock symbol”, but I could not graph it in any broker Thai stocks graphs? Nor get a quote for it, so it is not a Thai stock symbol.  Maybe Bloomberg can but what small investor has access to Bloomberg expensive service.


FSTHS is defined as follows: Companies within the top 98% by full market capitalization on the SET Main Board that are not large enough to be constituents of the FTSE SET Large Cap Index or FTSE SET Mid Cap Index, and that meet the relevant eligibility requirements

At the link below, it provides the explanation of these various indexes, but again I found no historical record, so once more, year after year, nobody here really knows how small cap's in Thailand perform, vs the SET broader averages. Why?

http://www.set.or.th/en/products/index/ftse_set_p1.html

Then, at this link below, they do provide a long term graph of the various indexes by size, but it is outdated (Feb 2008), evenwhile I think it there does shows smaller cap’s superior longer term performance. Too bad its a bit camouflaged.

http://www.set.or.th/th/products/index/files/FTSE_SET_HistoricalIndexAnalysis_AllShares.pdf

At this graph/link below they compare the SET index with the SET 50 index, which of course is soo very similar its hardly worth showing. I never understood why show something which really portays nothing?  Both are bloated large cap indexes, but no file shows jus the small cap graph.

http://www.set.or.th/th/products/index/files/FTSE_SET_HistoricalIndexAnalysis_FSTHL_vs_SET50.pdf

A few years ago an investor boutique house at the time did show the relative superior performance of small cap's, as when graphed by market cap. But they sort of left the scene as there has never been any updates since.  You can see their clear graphs at the link on the lefte here called "External Research".   It seems the old story prevails, not the SET nor the brokers want to show us much regarding the superior small cap' performance...I for one almost gave up looking for it.

Then, at last, I found this link below and so here we have the evidence.   Notice how FSTHS (small cap's., the green line) comfortably outperforms all the rest for 3 years, and this despite the poor performance of the MAI index of late. While this graph also shows how in the very recent past it gave up some of this advance and how for some time during the crisis year 2008 it lagged... , still its the stellar performer by a comfortable margin and wins the price of late, as in the past despite all the big cap, big town talk.   I rest my case.

http://www.set.or.th/en/market/ftseindexchart.html?chartType=FTSE

Best Regards,

Paul Renaud.

www.thaistocks.com