Source: MSCI, CCLA. The above data is not annualized. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns. The value of investments may fall as well as rise.
The data for Figure 2 above is represented in Table 3 below.
Column 1 of that Table shows the performance, in absolute terms, of the MSCI World Quality Index, which is made up of companies with high returns on equity, stable year-on-year earnings growth, and low debt levels, for quarters ending on the dates shown. Banking giant JPMorgan, for example, isn’t in the MSCI World Quality Index because, like many banks, it has high debt levels.
Column 2 shows the relative performance of the MSCI World Quality Index versus the MSCI World Index. Column 3 shows the relative performance of the MSCI World Quality Index versus the MSCI World Growth Index. The MSCI Growth Index captures shares with high growth rates in revenues, earnings per share and in retained earnings. It includes, for example, Nvidia and Microsoft, but not Facebook parent Meta, because Meta’s growth is comparatively low.
Columns 4 through 6 of Table 3 show the same absolute and relative performance, but for the one-year period ending on the date shown. Columns 7 through 12 show the same data for, respectively, five-year timeframes and 10-year timeframes.
Table 3: Quarterly, annual, five-year and 10-year performance (2008-2025). The longer the timeframe, the more quality shares have outperformed the broader stock market and growth shares.