Last week I posted a blog where my key message was to keep investing even when things look grim. Well, here’s another little anecdote that supports this approach.

Some of you may have heard of the acronym ‘PIIGS’.   The acronym stands for Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain.  Theses economies were labelled “PIIGS” by economists during the depths of the financial crisis.  At the time, these economies were written off as basket cases.  Shares in these troubled economies endured a torrid time.

Well, did you know that two of these ‘basket cases’, namely Ireland and Greece, returned 35 per cent last year!

And the story get’s better.  These ‘basket cases’ have been the continent’s best share market performers so far in 2014.  Data from Russell Investments (an asset management firm) shows that Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Greece have outclassed other European ­markets.   Out of its 16 euro zone indices, Greece has returned the most this year, up 9.4 per cent.  In second and third place are Portugal and Italy, up 8.5 per cent and 8.3 per cent respectively.  Ireland shares have gained 7.6 per cent, putting them at No. 4. Spain has lagged behind, but has matched the average country return of 2.3 per cent.

Some fund managers are even suggesting these countries are still a good long-term bet.

Need any more proof?

Bye for now

Dan’s Corner

1 March 2014

‘The past performance information provided is based on the following assumptions: data from Russell investments, an asset management firm, showing year to date performance for 2014 (as at February 2014) of the share market across a number of selected countries. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.’

_{Source: The Australian Financial Review 26 February 2014 Kyle Caldwall}