There's a lot to love about shares – and if you're keen to make your money work harder, the stockmarket looks set to deliver opportunities in 2023. A recent survey by the comparison service Savvy found 46% of Australians are invested in shares, with the overwhelming driver being the opportunity to earn decent returns on their investment.
Over the past 12 months, Aussie shares have notched up total returns (capital growth plus dividends) of 10.4%. Since the start of 2023, the sharemarket has climbed 6.6% (at the time of writing).
These returns are not one-offs. In the past decade the Australian sharemarket has delivered total returns averaging 8.7% annually. By comparison, you'll be lucky to earn much more than 4% on cash savings and, unlike shares, those returns don't come with the sweetener of potential tax savings.
With this in mind, we look at the outlook for shares and the latest
