International Stock Market Returns 2006 To 2020: Chart

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The International Stock Market Returns chart was recently updated with data for 2020 by Novel Investor. The chart shows the returns of the major developed market indices based on the respective MSCI index returns in US Dollar terms.

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Source: Novel Investor

Note: An interactive version of the chart can be found in the above link

The best performing market in 2020 was Denmark with a return about 45%. The Danish market was one of the best markets in the world since the index is heavily concentrated in healthcare and green energy industries. About half of the benchmark index is healthcare with companies like Novo Nordisk(NVO) and Coloplast(CLPBY). Green energy giant Orsted (DNNGY) is also represented in the benchmark and MSCI indices.

UK was the worst performing market with a loss of over 10% due to declines in energy and banking stocks and also the Brexit saga.

The chart also shows the importance of diversification as no market is the best year after year.

Disclosure: No Positions

Say Hi to Stellantis, the New Global Auto Leader

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Welcome to Stellantis, the newly created Auto company formed by the merger of Peugeot S.A. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. Stellantis will trade on the NYSE from Tuesday (1/19/21) under the ticket STLA. This ticker should not be confused with the ticker TSLA which is for another well-known automaker Tesla. Of course, Tesla’s production output is nowhere near Stellantis, which is the fourth-largest automaker in the world. Stellantis will haver annual sales of about 8.1 million vehicles.

The name Stellantis sounds like a name of a new drug. Drug companies in the US are known for coming up with all kinds of weird names for their over-priced drugs with names like Symbicort, Neulasta, Abilify, Keytruda, Otezla, etc. While this strategy  works for drug companies, it remains to be seen if consumers feel comfortable to buy a Stellantis car or even used the word when talking about cars.

Below is a brief excerpt from an article in WSJ:

Fiat Chrysler FCAU -4.93% Automobiles NV and Peugeot-maker PSA Group PUGOY -5.70% cemented their trans-Atlantic merger Saturday, creating Stellantis NV, a global auto-making giant that executives say will have the heft needed to compete in a fast-changing industry.

The deal, first agreed to in late 2019 and approved earlier this month by shareholders, comes as the global car business is rapidly shifting to new technologies, such as electric vehicles, and battling upstarts trying to upend everything from the way cars are engineered and built to how they are sold.

Stellantis, derived from Latin term meaning “to brighten with stars,” ranks as the world’s third-largest auto maker by sales, according to 2019 figures, the latest available. At Friday’s close, it was worth more than $51 billion. The newly formed car company plans to start trading under the ticker symbol STLA on the Paris and Milan stock exchanges Monday and in New York on Tuesday.

Stellantis will have a major presence in North America and more than a quarter of the market in Europe, selling vehicles through a massive collection of brands, ranging from American names like Jeep and Ram to Peugeot, Citroën and Opel in Europe and Maserati and Alfa Romeo on the luxury end.

Source: Fiat Chrysler, PSA Group Merge to Create New Auto-Making Behemoth, WSJ

With a collection of a so many well-established brands it would be interesting to watch if this new company is successful.

Disclosure: No Positions

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What If You Only Invested at Market Peaks?: Video

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US equity markets are at record levels. Lately there have been many articles in the media discussing if the market has reached its peak and a crash is on the horizon soon. With stocks at peak some investors may be wondering what if I invest now and market crashes soon after. Recently I cam e across an excellent video posted by Ben Carlson of A Wealth of Common Sense blog that explained how an unlucky investor invested at market tops and still came out ahead. You can checkout that video below:


 

Source: What if You Only Invested at Market Peaks? by Ben Carlson via The Big Picture

While Ben’s video is about US stocks, a blogger at Rankia expanded the idea and calculated the returns for major global markets. You can find that article here (in Spanish – So use Google Translate)

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Dividend Withholding Tax Rates by Country for 2021

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The Dividend Withholding Tax Rates by Country for 2021 has been published by S&P Global. This simple one-pager shows the updated withholding tax rates for each country. Certain countries such as Singapore, UK (excluding REITs), etc. are great for American investors since they do not charge withholding taxes for dividends. Others such as Colombia, Mexico, Thailand, etc. have a nominal tax rate of 10%. Among the high withholding tax rate countries are New Zealand, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.

Update – Click this link for 2022 rates: Dividend Withholding Tax Rates by Country for 2022

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Source: S&P Dow Jones

Asia:

a. India Dividend Withholding Tax :

1.What is the 2021 Withholding Tax Rate for Dividends paid to US investors?

20%.

2.What is the 2021 Withholding Tax Rate for 2021 for Dividends for Indian stocks held in qualified retirement accounts?

20%.

3.Does India waive the dividend Withholding Tax for stocks held in Qualified Retirement Accounts like IRAs, 401-Ks, etc.?

No. There is no special treatment for stocks held in retirement accounts.

4.What is the 2021 Withholding Tax Rate for REITs?

Same 20%.

5.Is there anyway to get a reduced Withholding Tax Rate?

No.

b. Singapore Dividend Withholding Tax :

1.What is the 2021 Singapore Withholding Tax Rate for Dividends paid to US investors?

0%. Singapore is one of the few countries in the world that charges no withholding taxes to US residents.

2.What is the 2021 Withholding Tax Rate for 2021 for Dividends for Singapore stocks held in qualified retirement accounts?

0%.

3.Does Singapore waive the dividend Withholding Tax for stocks held in Qualified Retirement Accounts like IRAs, 401-Ks, etc.?

Not applicable since Singapore charges 0%.

4.What is the 2021 Singapore Dividend Withholding Tax Rate for REITs?

10%.

5.Is there anyway to get a reduced Withholding Tax Rate?

No.

c. Australia Dividend Withholding Tax :

1.What is the 2021 Australia Withholding Tax Rate for Dividends paid to US investors?

30%.

2.What is the 2021 Withholding Tax Rate for 2021 for Dividends for Singapore stocks held in qualified retirement accounts?

30%.

3.Does Australia waive the dividend Withholding Tax for stocks held in Qualified Retirement Accounts like IRAs, 401-Ks, etc.?

No.

4.What is the 2021 Australia Dividend Withholding Tax Rate for REITs?

30%.

5.Is there anyway to get a reduced Withholding Tax Rate?

No.

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Latin America:

Europe:

Middle East and Africa:

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Bull and Bear Market Impact on Returns – An Australian Example

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How do Bull and Bear Markets impact returns? The following chart shows the impacts based on three contribution strategies from an Australian perspective. The returns are from 1980 thru the end of June, 2020. Consistent monthly contributions yielded the highest return than a single one-time lump sum payment. Similar to the US market, the chart also shows that the average bull market is much higher than the average bear market.

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Source: Vanguard Australia