Direct Answer
The FTSE/JSE Top 40 Capped is a rule-based measurement of top 40 companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange with individual constituent weight caps, maintained by FTSE Russell/JSE. Like every index it owns nothing: it is a number produced by applying a published weighting formula to a selected list of companies, revised on a schedule the provider sets.
What this index covers
The FTSE/JSE Top 40 Capped covers top 40 companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange with individual constituent weight caps, within the South Africa market. FTSE Russell/JSE defines which securities are eligible, how they are selected from that pool, and how much each one contributes to the published number.
The name states a target of 40 companies. A target is not a guarantee of the exact count on any given day: corporate actions, dual share classes and pending additions all move the real number around it.
How constituents are weighted
Same constituents and corporate action treatment as the Top 40, with each company's weight capped at 12%. Capping uses prices from the second Friday of March, June, September and December and is applied after the close on the third Friday of those months.
The weighting method is the single biggest driver of how an index behaves. Two indexes covering the same market can diverge for years purely because they weight differently, which is why comparing index levels without knowing the method tells you very little.
What qualifies for inclusion
The underlying Top 40 holds the 40 most investable companies of the All Share Index ranked by investable market capitalisation, held at a constant number. A non-member enters at rank 35 or better and a member is deleted at rank 46 or lower.
Eligibility rules are the part of an index most readers never look at and the part that decides what it can possibly measure. A screen that excludes a whole sector, or admits only one listing venue, shapes the result far more than any day of trading does.
When the membership is revised
Fixed size indices such as the Top 40 are ranked at the periodic review, with changes effective after the close on the third Friday of the review month. The 12% cap is reapplied at each quarterly review in March, June, September and December.
Reconstitution is the one date an index changes shape by design rather than by price. Funds tracking it have to trade toward the new membership, which is why the schedule matters to anyone holding the tracker rather than only to the provider.
The rule that surprises people
Capping is applied only at the quarterly review, so a stock's weight can drift above 12% between reviews. Two related companies are capped as one entity when company A's holding in company B is worth more than 75% of A's own gross market capitalisation.
References
- FTSE Russell/JSE: FTSE Russell and JSE, FTSE/JSE Africa Index Series Ground Rules v9.3, as published 2026. Every rule described on this page is taken from this document.
Current FTSE/JSE Top 40 Capped constituents
FTSE Russell/JSE publishes and licenses the FTSE/JSE Top 40 Capped constituent list. Swoopr does not republish it here. The provider's own page is the authoritative source for current membership and weights.
Related reading
- All stock market indexes: how indexes are built, weighted and revised.
- Emerging Markets indexes: others covering the same region.
- Index concentration: measuring how much of an index sits in its largest holdings.
- Index rebalancing and inclusion effects: what happens to a stock when index membership changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who maintains the FTSE/JSE Top 40 Capped?
FTSE Russell/JSE maintains the FTSE/JSE Top 40 Capped and publishes the methodology document that defines its eligibility and weighting rules.
What does the FTSE/JSE Top 40 Capped measure?
It measures top 40 companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange with individual constituent weight caps. The index is a calculated number applying a weighting formula to a selected list of companies, and it holds nothing itself.
Where can I see the current FTSE/JSE Top 40 Capped constituents?
FTSE Russell/JSE publishes the current constituent list. Swoopr does not republish it, because index providers license constituent data and Swoopr holds no such licence.