FTC is a solid coin and like ohters say it has big potential in the UK. And not like other coins that are not doing anything they are extremely active, not just on the internet but going to talks, meeting groups, evangelizing not just FTC but good cryptos in general. They really believe in the movement and they believe in getting many people to use their crypto and accept it. I think this coin is undervalued IMO, and i'm not a fanboy. When the dust settles with all these alts we'll see who remains, these guys will still be there.
As for investment i'd say they're more a long term investment, however high risk for ROI as any other crypto. I'd say invest in other alts that you feel will be HOT. Pump n dump alts took me from .3 BTC to 10+. Also getting in on new innovative alts good give return as well. ie: protoshares and nxt did it for me (wish i held on NXT would've made tripple).
Yeah, as far as active communities go and merchant adoption, FTC has probably the best of all the alts. The marketplace is a big plus too. I can't see any reason why FTC wont go back to £1-ish this year. If it does I'll have made a nice little profit.