Interesting data recently published in the Credit Suisse Global Investment Returns 2011 Yearbook, puts the Aussie sharemarket at the top in terms of performance (in local currencies) over the long term. And by long term, we mean long term (111 years !!).
Since 1900, the Australian market has delivered a real annual return of 7.4%. That’s better than the United States (6.3%), Canada (5.9%), Britain (5.3%) and Germany (3.1%). Indeed, the best performance in the world !
In fact, had you (or your forebears) invested just $1 in the Australian sharemarket in 1900, it would be worth $3,054 today !
Commenting on this performance, Paul Taylor, Head of Australian Equities at Fidelity Investments, attributes this outstanding performance to 5 major factors:
- strong population growth,
- good natural resources,
- strong corporate governance,
- a high dividend yeild (Australian companies are some of the best dividend payers in the world) and
- high real dividend growth
