Ghost of GFC still lingering

ALMOST half of Australia’s 20 largest companies are worth less today than they were a decade ago.

Investors who stuck with corporate giants through the Global Financial Crisis may be disappointed by their slow recovery, an analysis by The Gold Coast Bulletin suggests, but there also have been some surprising fail-safe stocks.

Nine of the nation’s top 20 shares, including BHP Billiton, Woolworths, Telstra and Westfield, have shrunk, while other big stocks such as AMP, Brambles and QBE Insurance lost enough market value to drop out of the top 20.

However, major banks plus healthcare and infrastructure companies have grown.

“You wouldn’t think so, but the banks have done very well despite the fact that they were the crux of the crisis 10 years ago,” said Ross Barker, managing director of Australian Foundation Investment Company.

Next week marks a frustrating milestone for many investors – it will be exactly 10 years since the All Ordinaries index of 500 major companies reached its last record high.

The patchy performance means the index still must rise another 13 per cent to reclaim its record of 6872 points. Yesterday it closed at 5969 points.

Without the performance of the banks it would be far worse.

AMP Capital head of investment strategy Shane Oliver said banks had benefited from government guarantees, paying high dividends while interest rates were low, and their continuing record profits.

Health stocks have been stars, with biotech giant CSL’ trebling in value.

“Healthcare is a long-term growth sector – populations will age and demand for their services will grow,” he said.