RT-Small stocks trounce large over four years-Lipper
(Adds longer term comparisons in paragraphs 7-10)
NEW YORK, May 12 (Reuters) - Small-company stocks have
"substantially outperformed" those of larger firms over the
past four years, according to a report on Wednesday by Lipper
Inc.
The Lipper report said $100 invested in the Standard &
Poor's small-cap stock index on Dec. 31, 1999, was worth about
$150 on March 31 this year.
By comparison, $100 invested in the S&P 500 index of larger
firms was worth only $81 on March 31, 2004.
"During most of the recent bear market, small-cap stocks
and the mutual funds that invest in them only occasionally
dipped below the initial $100 investment level," wrote Andrew
Clark, Lipper senior research analyst, in the report.
"The same cannot be said of large-cap stocks and the funds
that invest in them. Since September 2000, large-cap stocks
were consistently worth less than the initial $100
investment."
The report said three sectors had helped drive returns for
small caps in the past four years: electronic technology,
industrial services and finance.
The report said cumulative returns from larger stocks
improved when measured over a longer period.
It said if $100 had been invested in the S&P small-cap
index and in the S&P 500 in October 1994, the S&P 500
cumulative return would have been better than the small-cap
return for most of the 1990s.
However, since August 2003 the small-cap stock index return
had become greater on a cumulative basis than the large-cap
index.
As of March 31, 2004, the $100 invested in the small-cap
index in October 1994 was worth $324, while the large-cap
investment from October 1994 was worth $307.
Lipper Inc. is a unit of Reuters Group Plc.
Gee, wonder why I focus on small cap stocks, like ATCO?
Best,
Savant |
