Stock-Markets
Best Financial Markets Analysis ArticleThe One-Year Survey - There is an old saying that in the land of the blind, the one-eyed jack is king. Similarly, in the land of little or no yield and plunging asset values, there is something to be said for that which holds its own, as gold did in USAGOLD's Annual Survey of Investments for 2009.
When viewing the chart, please keep in mind that it covers the 365 days from July through June. In years past, the midyear starting point for our survey has not provided any distinct advantage to our readers, but this year it happens to cover precisely what many believe to be the most destructive period in financial markets since the Great Depression. As a result, what you see here are the performance rankings for key investments since the full inception of the crisis during the summer of 2008. It was a very bad year for investors. Stocks and real estate fared miserably -- down 17.05% and 25.58% respectively. Those losses were based on averages. In some cases and locales, the losses were substantially worse. Gold stocks seemed to take their cue from the larger stock market (rather than gold itself) dropping 18.88%. The best places to be, other than the skyrocketing commodities complex (up 33.09%), were green (as in cash, cd's and Treasuries) and gold (as in coins and bullion). The trend was away from risk and toward safety. This year's successful investor kept in mind veteran market analyst Richard Russell's admonition: "In a secular bear market, he who loses least wins."
The Five-Year Survey
In the five-year survey, gold tops the rankings with a 113.8% return. Of its primary competitors only gold stocks and fine wine* mounted respectable challenges (up 68.5% and 112.86% respectively). Stocks (down 17.79%) and real estate (down 25.03%) were the big losers over the period. Diversification is the hallmark of the prudent investor, and the past five years have provided ample proof of the principle. A stock purchase of $100,000 in 2005 would have been worth $82,210 in 2009. By contrast, a $100,000 purchase of gold coins and bullion in 2005 would have been valued at $213,800 by 2009 -- a swing in net worth difficult to ignore.
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