The stock market has travelled a long way since staring into the abyss in February.
What an extraordinary six months it has been for equity markets, with the FTSE World Index having risen by nearly 50% from the depths of despair in early March.
European markets were remarkably volatile during the first half of 2009, mainly due to the ongoing fall out from the global credit crunch.
The Japanese market has benefited from the improvement in investor confidence we have seen in recent months, although the weakness of the yen this year has been a negative for sterling-based investors (a reversal of the picture in 2008).
Market upheaval causes mass exodus to developed markets as a consequence of managers' search for quality and protection from risk
When making asset allocation decisions, the temptation is always to opt for markets and funds that are performing well.
The fund celebrates its silver anniversary as one of the longest-established UK vehicles by standing first in IMA European Smaller Companies sector
Emerging market debt held up well relative to other asset classes in 2008, and in 2009 has performed strongly as global financial markets have rallied.
It has, on the whole, been a positive time for markets, and enthusiastic investors have been rewarded accordingly.
The S&P 500 has risen more than 40% since the lows witnessed earlier this year.