Japan: Past 25-year Performance is Not Indicative of Future Returns

Global investors and even Japanese citizens are woefully although understandably under allocated to Japanese stocks. Why? For most of our “investment” lifetimes, the island nation has been a place to avoid, with equities (Nikkei 225) still unable to fully recover from the Japanese bubble that popped 25-years ago. From the 1989 top to the 2009 bottom, Japanese stocks lost 83% of their value. Even despite recent gains, a $1 million Japanese equity investment made in 1989 would be worth $500,000 today compared to $6 million if invested in U.S. stocks (S&P 500). And that pain wasn’t merely limited to a bad investment made during a narrow window in late 1989. The same investment into Japanese stocks made 6 years later (the typical length of a normal business cycle) would still be down 1% compared to a 350% gain here stateside. Is there any wonder why investors love U.S. stocks and seemingly despise the third largest economy on earth?

 

Download the full article here.


Third Party Site

The information being provided is strictly as a courtesy. When you link to any of the websites provided here, you are leaving this website. We make no representation as to the completeness or accuracy of information provided at these websites. Nor is the company liable for any direct or indirect technical or system issues or any consequences arising out of your access to or your use of third-party technologies, websites, information and programs made available through this website. When you access one of these websites, you are leaving our web site and assume total responsibility and risk for your use of the websites you are linking to.

Dated Material

Dated material presented here is available for historical and archival purposes only and does not represent the current market environment. Dated material should not be used to make investment decisions or be construed directly or indirectly, as an offer to buy or sell any securities mentioned. Past performance cannot guarantee future results.


TOP