S&P 500 leads in strong year for developed market equities

Stockmarkets finish 2019 at three-year highs

The S&P 500 was the best-performing major regional stockmarket in 2019, having finished the year up 25.7% in sterling terms, according to data from FE fundinfo.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the MSCI Emerging Markets was left trailing the dust with a return of 14.3%. 2019 proved to be a strong year for major equity indices on a relative basis, with the six most commonly-cited stockmarkets returning an average of 17.9%. In contrast, the six stockmarkets lost 6.6% on average over the course of 2018, while 2017 - often cited as a good year for equities - saw indices gain an average of 17%. Chris Forgan, portfolio manager of the Fidelity Multi Asset Open Range, said the good news for investors in 2019 was that absolute returns were posi...