Asset Class Returns Well the results are in and the attached table once again confirms that growth assets which by definition are shares and property have delivered the highest calendar year return for 22 out of the last 28 years (ie. 78% of the time). But, and there always is a but, the table also shows that all growth assets suffered a negative return for the year ending 31 December 2008. The last time all growth assets posted a negative calender year return was 1994. In the end, Australian Fixed Interest was the clear winner in 2008 while Australian Property (ie. commercial, retail and industrial property) delivered the worst result of any asset classes for the entire 28 years. It takes a great deal of effort to push an entire asset class this far negative, especially when your are talking about blue chip Australian Property. Please remember that these figures do not show the ability of clients to buy low and add to their current investment holding when an asset class is out of favour which in turn will accelerate the rate of return well above the index performance. WARNING, past performance is no guarantee of future performance and these index return figures do not reflect the ability of top professional investment management teams to outperform their respective index/benchmark. Most importantly, the above does not constitute Personal Advice. At Newealth we are always looking to innovate and improve our ongoing advice and services wherever possible and if you have any ideas or comments, please feel free to email me at invest@newealth.com.au or to call me on +61 2 9267 2322.
30th-January-2009 | 
