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Is time the best way to judge an investment?

There isn't really an optimal timeframe to use to judge fund managers, but other tools can help
August 23, 2023

How’s your portfolio looking on a three-year view? Total returns from both the FTSE 100 and MSCI World indices sit at 35 per cent, while iShares’ Core Global Aggregate Bond fund (AGGG) is down 15 per cent. A market-hugging 60/40 portfolio would therefore have hoped to be up 15 per cent overall.

Then again, it’s doubtful this is the time window you’ve been focusing on recently.

Cast your mind back. Three years ago, markets were still surfing a colossal surge in central bank liquidity and pandemic-targeted state largesse. That was before a series of positive data from Covid-19 vaccine trials and a renewed flock to tech stocks ushered in months of equity market euphoria.

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