Charted: The Key Investment Theme of Each Decade (1950-Today)
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Investment Themes by Decade
These decade-defining themes are often the product of a confluence of factors, including the macroeconomic environment, geopolitics, monetary policy, or other structural shifts like technological disruption.
Here are the central investment themes since the 1950s, each with at least 400% cumulative returns over each period:
| Decade | Investment Theme | Index / Asset |
|---|---|---|
| 1950s | European Stocks | Europe GFD Composite |
| 1960s | “Nifty Fifty” | U.S. Nifty 50 |
| 1970s | Emerging Markets/ Commodities | Gold and Oil Prices* |
| 1980s | Japanese Stocks | TOPIX Index |
| 1990s | American Tech | Nasdaq Index |
| 2000s | Emerging Markets/ Commodities | BRICs and Oil Prices** |
| 2010s | American “Mega Caps” | FAANG |
*Price change for gold and oil, represented as an average. **Equity market performance of Brazil, Russia, India, China and oil prices, represented as an average.
