NZ Herald Q&A Column

One-year wonder not so wonderful. The figures seem to argue against all the conventional wisdom on investing in shares or share funds. If you invest in New Zealand shares for just one year, you have a 30 per cent chance of getting a handsome return of more than 20 per cent. But if you invest for three years, the chance of getting such a high annual return falls to 11 per cent. Over five years, it’s a mere 2 per cent, and at ten years, it’s practically zero. Might as well go with just a one-year investment then, right? Wrong.