Chart of the week: QE rewards lazy investors

"A rising tide lifts all boats," says Tim Price in a Price Value Partners note. This chart is a stark illustration of the effect of a decade of rock-bottom interest rates and quantitative easing (money printing).

The liquidity flood has ensured a 360% increase in the S&P Total Return index, which includes reinvested dividends. But an index constructed by Deutsche Bank, which tracks 1,000 top-quality global blue chips chosen for their high scores in key metrics such as profitability has climbed by just 8% in a decade.

You would normally expect quality to be rewarded by the market, but in this era of central-bank activism, making the effort to find good stocks is "useless". You might as well "[plop] your money willy-nilly into crappy stuff".

Try 6 free issues of MoneyWeek today

Get unparalleled financial insight, analysis and expert opinion you can profit from.

Start your trial

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up

Viewpoint

The Times