The best and worst assets of the past decade

Private equity is the best performing asset class of the past decade, returning nearly 15 per cent, according to research by investment firm Mercer, but investor access to its success remains limited in this country.

“A lot of those [Australian superannuation] funds now do have quite significant private equity investments, we’re not seeing that in KiwiSavers.” Mercer chief investment officer Padraig Brown told Markets with Madison.

Because of that, the performance of our investment scheme compared with across the ditch was “light and day”, he said.

“Private equity, it’s a very attractive asset class, as you can see by the numbers that we’ve pulled together.”

However, PE paled in comparison to Bitcoin, which had seen a price increase of about 20,000 per cent in United States-dollar terms since the year 2015.

Brown said it was excluded from its list of 16 asset classes because it was not adopted by institutions last year.

“Performance has been absolutely stellar ... But, also very volatile.”

Mercer’s research revealed the best performing assets of the past decade were global and New Zealand equities, domestic commercial property, Australian equities and global listed infrastructure - in that order.

Watch today’s episode of Markets with Madison above to learn about the losers in the 10 years to the end of 2023.

Get investment insights from executives and experts on Markets with Madison every Monday and Friday here on the NZ Herald, on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this programme is of a general nature, and is not intended to be personalised financial advice. We encourage you to seek appropriate advice from a qualified professional to suit your individual circumstances.

Madison Reidy is the host of the NZ Herald’s investment show Markets with Madison. She joined the Herald in 2022 after working in investment, and has covered business and economics for television and radio broadcasters.