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Relative Sizes of World Stock Markets: 1899 vs. 2015 Thumbnail

Relative Sizes of World Stock Markets: 1899 vs. 2015

Global Market Commentary

By: Mike Earl, CFP®, CPWA®


Question:

Which country's stock market offered the highest annualized real returns (net of inflation) from 1900 - 2015? 

Answer: 

South Africa, with annualized real returns of 7.3% over that time period. The next-best competitor has been Australia, with annualized real returns of 6.7%.


A few observations:

  • The US stock market size today is larger than all other countries in the world put together.

  • The US stock market is more than 22 times as large as the Chinese stock market.

  • The UK has a larger stock market than France and Germany combined.

  • English-speaking lands comprise greater than 64% of the world's total stock markets.

 

The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any information is not a complete summary or statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision and does not constitute a recommendation. Past performance may not be indicative of future results.