Investing in shares has a lot going for it: top long-term average returns, a low entry cost, good liquidity, favourable tax treatment and heaps of choice.
Vanguard's 2023 Index Chart shows US shares were the top-performing asset class in the 30 years to June 30, 2023, scoring an average yearly return of 10%. Australian shares were not far behind, returning an average 9.2%pa over 30 years.
But it's not all good news. The reality is share investors can lose money, maybe all of it, if they choose the wrong companies. The $5.3 billion collapse of HIH Insurance in March 2001, for example, was the biggest and most significant in Australian corporate history
