Oliver's Insights: Nine rules for investors to keep in mind

Investing during times of market stress and volatility can be difficult. For this reason it’s useful to keep a key set of things – call them rules – in mind. "Make the most of the power of compound interest. Although the average annual return on Australian shares (11.8% pa) is just double that on Australian bonds (6% pa) over the last 115 years, $1 invested in bonds in 1900 would today be worth $807 whereas $1 invested in shares would now be worth $406,816. Yes there were lots of rough periods along the way for shares just like through the GFC and its aftermath, but the impact of compounding at a higher long term return is huge over long periods of time. The same applies to other growth related assets such as property, which over long periods has had a similar return to shares. So one of the best ways to build wealth is to take advantage of the power of compound interest and this means making sure you have the right asset mix in your investment strategy." More: (VIEW LINK)