Don't follow the crowd, claims Digenan

UBS fund manager says investors should look for opportunities to add value at individual stock level to earn good returns

There continues to be a significant disconnect between investor expectations and what the market delivers in terms of risk and return, said Tom Digenan, manager of the UBS Equity Fund. Demonstrating how choppy markets can be, Digenan pointed to the fact that the S&P 500 index had delivered annual total average returns of 10.4% over the period from 1926 to 2004. As a result, he adds, most investor expect this to be a typical annual return. However, within that 78- year period, on only five occasions did the S&P 500 grow at around its average annualised rate of return (calculated as those...