Off to a promising start

The sharemarket can be volatile, but investors who do their research stand to be rewarded over time

There's a lot to love about shares - and if you're keen to make your money work harder, the stockmarket looks set to deliver opportunities in 2023. A recent survey by the comparison service Savvy found 46% of Australians are invested in shares, with the overwhelming driver being the opportunity to earn decent returns on their investment.

Over the past 12 months, Aussie shares have notched up total returns (capital growth plus dividends) of 10.4%. Since the start of 2023, the sharemarket has climbed 6.6% (at the time of writing).

These returns are not one-offs. In the past decade the Australian sharemarket has delivered total returns averaging 8.7% annually. By comparison, you'll be lucky to earn much more than 4% on cash savings and, unlike shares, those returns don't come with the sweetener of potential tax savings.

With this in mind, we look at the outlook for shares and the latest investment trends, and how you can protect - and even boost - the value of your portfolio.

Managed fund giant Vanguard expects Australian shares to deliver returns of between 4.5% and 6.5% in 2023, with global shares (excluding Australia) forecast to generate capital growth of 5.6% to 7.6%.

Ashley Glover, head of sales trading, APAC and Canada, at CMC Markets, believes these expectations are reasonable. However, he cautions: "It's likely shares may have a bumpy year ahead. We've seen nine consecutive interest rate rises, and it takes time for these rate hikes to impact consumer spending, which can shape market sentiment." That said, Glover notes that with plenty of industry sectors to choose from, the Aussie sharemarket looks set to dish up opportunities.

In 2022, the leading sharemarket index, the S&P/ ASX 200, finished the year 5.5% higher. However, some stocks eclipsed this result. White haven Coal shares soared 261% last year, while fellow miner New Hope Corporation jumped 185%.