Global Returns in 2005

I recently came across an interesting post at Ticker Sense showing the returns from various markets in 2005. The table below summaries the findings (See Ticker Sense for full run down and a nice map indicating returns):

There are some surprises, most notably with China having low returns despite being a fast growing economy. This result is not entirely unexpected as shown in a working paper by the academics Elroy Dimson, Paul Marsh and Mike Staunton. They looked at the performance of 17 national markets over the past 105 years and concluded that High-growth economies don’t post the highest stock-market returns.

I intend to take this global returns information into consideration in constructing my portfolio and will not invest in China directly for this reason.