Developed World Equities Post Considerable Returns in November

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) developed world index – the S&P/Citigroup BMI Developed World Index – rose 5.75% on the month in US dollar terms, well above the 3.86% returns seen with the S&P 500, according to a news release from the company. The positive results were spread across all regions, with only four emerging market countries recording losses on the month.   Europe posted the highest returns for November (7.57%), but was followed closely by Asia/Pacific (6.24%). North American returns lagged behind, posting a 4.72% increase on the month.

Developed world small-cap equities outperformed larger ones, with the former posting 7.96% returns to the latter’s 4.93%. Small-cap held this edge in all developed regions except Asia/Pacific.

Year-to-date figures show that small-cap equities have outperformed their larger counterparts by over 11%. Companies under $2 billion in market capitalization have posted 20.26% returns since January, while companies with over $10 billion in market capitalization have returned 9.15% on the year.

The S&P/Citigroup BMI Global Composite index rose 5.85% in November, even with the US dollar’s serious depreciation. The S&P/Citigroup BMI Emerging Markets index rose a considerable 7.89% on the month in US dollar terms. Individual county returns varied wildly, however. Only Russia, Venezuela, Nigeria and Turkey posted equity losses in November.