<p>Making them the worst asset class among all major investment avenues, stocks have given a negative return of about 20 per cent in the past one year, going by the performance of the stock market's benchmark index, the Sensex.<br /><br />An analysis of returns from different investment classes shows that investors in assets like gold, silver and even bank and corporate deposits, on the other hand, have reaped rich dividends from the money they put in.<br /><br />Savings bank accounts also earn the depositors an annual interest of 4 per cent, while the fixed deposits of banks and various corporate deposits are giving investors an annual return of an average 9-10 per cent. In some cases, the returns could be as high as 12 per cent.<br /><br />The analysis shows that the silver has been the best performer, with an over 60 per cent return in the past one year, followed by about 40 per cent from gold.<br /><br />The sharp under-performance of stocks was even worse till a few days ago, as gold and silver prices have gone through a significant correction and the stock market has witnessed a few bouts of recovery in the recent past.<br /><br />An analysis of returns from investments made in different investment classes in January, 2008, when the stock market began its downslide after scaling life-time peaks, shows that the losses in stocks, including those of large-cap companies, are huge.<br /><br />An investment of Rs 1 lakh in shares of Sensex companies, the top 30 firms of the Indian stock market, made in January, 2008, is now worth less than Rs 80,000, as per the performance of the blue-chip index, which has fallen by about 22 per cent from the near 21,000-mark at that time to the 16,500-level currently.<br /><br />A similar investment in the country's top 500 companies has fared even worse, with the loss amounting to nearly Rs 30,000, while the losses are much larger at about Rs 40,000 for mid-cap companies and about Rs 50,000 in small-cap companies. This is based on the performance of the BSE 500, Mid-Cap and Small-Cap indices since January, 2008.<br /><br />On the other hand, investments of Rs 1 lakh in gold and silver during the same period have more than doubled in value to over Rs 2.4 lakh and Rs 2.6 lakh, respectively.<br />Gold prices have risen by 142 per cent since January, 2008, while silver appreciated by 165 per cent during this period.</p>
<p>Making them the worst asset class among all major investment avenues, stocks have given a negative return of about 20 per cent in the past one year, going by the performance of the stock market's benchmark index, the Sensex.<br /><br />An analysis of returns from different investment classes shows that investors in assets like gold, silver and even bank and corporate deposits, on the other hand, have reaped rich dividends from the money they put in.<br /><br />Savings bank accounts also earn the depositors an annual interest of 4 per cent, while the fixed deposits of banks and various corporate deposits are giving investors an annual return of an average 9-10 per cent. In some cases, the returns could be as high as 12 per cent.<br /><br />The analysis shows that the silver has been the best performer, with an over 60 per cent return in the past one year, followed by about 40 per cent from gold.<br /><br />The sharp under-performance of stocks was even worse till a few days ago, as gold and silver prices have gone through a significant correction and the stock market has witnessed a few bouts of recovery in the recent past.<br /><br />An analysis of returns from investments made in different investment classes in January, 2008, when the stock market began its downslide after scaling life-time peaks, shows that the losses in stocks, including those of large-cap companies, are huge.<br /><br />An investment of Rs 1 lakh in shares of Sensex companies, the top 30 firms of the Indian stock market, made in January, 2008, is now worth less than Rs 80,000, as per the performance of the blue-chip index, which has fallen by about 22 per cent from the near 21,000-mark at that time to the 16,500-level currently.<br /><br />A similar investment in the country's top 500 companies has fared even worse, with the loss amounting to nearly Rs 30,000, while the losses are much larger at about Rs 40,000 for mid-cap companies and about Rs 50,000 in small-cap companies. This is based on the performance of the BSE 500, Mid-Cap and Small-Cap indices since January, 2008.<br /><br />On the other hand, investments of Rs 1 lakh in gold and silver during the same period have more than doubled in value to over Rs 2.4 lakh and Rs 2.6 lakh, respectively.<br />Gold prices have risen by 142 per cent since January, 2008, while silver appreciated by 165 per cent during this period.</p>