The RIFC 50 Index™ continued to recover from the severe losses sustained earlier in the year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the 4th quarter 2020, the University of New Hampshire’s franchising sector-focused RIFC 50 Index gained 12.8% in market value as effective vaccines started becoming available, fueling hopes for control of the pandemic in the near future. Developed and published by UNH’s Rosenberg International Franchise Center (RIFC), it is the first stock index to track the financial market performance of the US franchising sector.

“Despite a very challenging year, 27 of the RIFC 50 Index’s 50 components ended the year with higher market values than at the beginning of 2020,” said E. Hachemi Aliouche, director of the Rosenberg International Franchise Center at UNH’s Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics, and developer of the RIFC 50 stock index. “Seven even managed to grow their market values more than 50%.”

On the other hand, two of the Index’s components declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection during 2020 (Hertz and GNC). Index component Dunkin’ Brands, the parent company of iconic brands Dunkin’ and Baskin Robbins, was acquired by Inspire Brands for $11.3 billion this year. Over the last few years, Inspire Brands has acquired several RIFC 50 Index components, including Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Sonic Drive-In.

The RIFC 50 Index is a stock portfolio comprised of 50 U.S. public franchising companies representative of the U.S. business format franchising sector. The RIFC 50 Index is up 4.8 % over the last 12 months, up 36.8% over the last five years, up 104.3% over the last 10 years, and up 317.2 % since its inception in 2000.