The Five Best and Worst Emerging Country Equity Returns 2003 Thru 2018

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Emerging equity markets are have higher risks but can yield higher returns. The following chart shows how diversification among these markets is essential for long-term success with this type of asset class. No one country is the consistent performer each year. For example, in 2018 Qatar was the best market while Turkey was the worst. Brazil was the best performer in 2009 and again in 2016.Despite almost daily hype about China in the media, the country’s equity index ranked the top emerging market all the way back in 2006.

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Note: The returns shown above are in British Pound Sterling and the returns are based on MSCI indices

Source: Lazard Asset Management

Asset Class Total Returns 2004 Thru 2018: Chart

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Diversification is a simple and easy strategy to beat market volatility. Diversifying one’s assets in a portfolio among various asset classes is one of type of diversification. The following chart shows the total return of various asset classes from 2004 thru 2018.

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Source: What Asset Diversification Looks Like, in One Chart, Northwestern Mutual

The chart shows in a colorful way that different asset classes perform differently in a given year.In 2009, for example emerging markets soared by over 78% in total returns only to return only 19% the following year. In 2011, they were the worst performer among the asset classes shown above with a loss of 18%.

Similarly commodities fell for four years in a row since 2013.

So the key takeaway is that it is unwise to hold most of one’s funds in a single asset type – whether it is gold, commodities, real estate, cash, etc. It is always better to own a bunch of different asset types to profit from the wide divergence in their returns year over year.

Single Country Equity Market Returns for Developed Countries 1999 Thru 2018

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The following chart shows the annual returns for individual developed countries from 199 thru 2018. Since 2008, the US has been the best performing market for four years. In 2018, global export-driven countries like Germany and Canada were the worst performers.Overall the chart below shows the importance of diversification since no country is the consistent top performer year after year.

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Note” Returns shown are in US dollars.

Source: Lazard Asset Management

The Top 100 Global Arms-Producing and Military Services Companies 2018

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The production and sales of weapons is one of the top industries in the world. In more recent year, Private Military Contractors(PMCs) have also flourished to offer all types of military services. In 2017, the global arms business topped $398 billion according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

A few interesting points noted in the research report published by SIPRI:

  • Our of the top 100, 42 companies are US-based
  • US companies’ share of the Top 100 arms sales was 57%
  • Western European companies accounted for about $94 billion of total sales
  • Russia stood at second spot next only to the US in global arms sales

The Top 100 Global Arms-Producing and Military Services Companies based on data from 2017 are shown in the tables below:

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Source: SIPRI

Some of the major US companies in the above list are:

  1. Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT)
  2. Raytheon Company (RTN)
  3. Boeing Co(BA)
  4. General Dynamics Corporation(GD)
  5.  Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC)
  6. United Technologies Corporation(UTX)
  7.  Level 3 Communications, Inc. (LVLT)
  8. Textron Inc.(TXT)

Disclosure: No Positions