Take your mind back to the investment markets of 2008 and you will recall a period of immense turmoil and fear

Take your mind back to the investment markets of 2008 and you will recall a period of immense turmoil and fear. That year saw the start of the global financial crisis. Cracks were appearing in equity markets in late 2007 but things really got worrisome for investors when Bear Stearns collapsed and was sold in early 2008. During that period the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates aggressively. The cut of 0.75 per cent to overnight rates clearly indicated the Fed had serious concerns with the economic and financial outlook for the US. From an Australian perspective it was clear that if the US, representing at that time 25 per cent of the world's GDP, had problems, then it would spread around the world. And indeed it did. By February 2009 the Australian equity market had collapsed by nearly 60 per cent from its peak recorded in 2007. Now consider this question... Were you better to have been an investor in an unlisted managed fund or a shareholder in a LIC? Read the case for LICs report (VIEW LINK)