Owning Singapore stocks has been a poor bet even for investors with long horizons

WEALTH management experts often advise investors not to put any funds they might immediately need in the stock market.

To maximise the benefit of traditionally high returns from owning stocks, and mitigate the inherently volatile nature of this asset class, investors should plan to have as long a holding period as possible.

So, what is a suitable holding period for stocks?

Some might say three years is sufficient. More conservative advisers might suggest five years. But almost nobody would argue that 10 years is not enough time to derive the full benefit of a diversified stock portfolio.

Yet, investors who invested in a portfolio of stocks that mirrored …