>THE GLOBAL NIFTY FIFTY (HSBC)

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, the 'Nifty Fifty' were 50 large American companies whose shares were regarded as solid, dependable, low-risk growth stocks with stable earnings. Companies like Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), GE (NYSE:GE), Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), in other words: the bedrock of the American economy.

The proposition for investors was simple. These were companies that were built to last, well-positioned for growth, and well-managed -- so buy a broad cross-section of the Nifty Fifty, hold for the long term, and forget about fancy stock picking. Over 40 years on, investment strategists at HSBC (LSE: HSBA) have now revisited the Nifty Fifty notion -- with a twist. What would a global Nifty Fifty look like, they wondered? And -- of even more interest to UK investors -- a European Nifty Fifty?

The global Nifty Fifty includes several members of the original (and American-only) Nifty Fifty -- companies such as Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, and Caterpillar(NYSE: CAT). It also includes American companies that were relative minnows when the original Nifty Fifty were formulated -- Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT), for example. There are also some that didn't exist at all back then: Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) and Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL). Of the complete global listing, 24 companies are American, 10 are Asian, and 16 are European. And of the European companies, six are British.

What might a global ‘Nifty Fifty’ look like? (SEE IN REPORT)

To see full report: THE GLOBAL NIFTY FIFTY