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Over the past year, the Swiss SPI index has risen by around 6%, while the US stock market, measured in Swiss francs, has delivered more than five times that return.

It is fair to say that the US market has recently outperformed the Swiss index, especially as the difference in returns over the last two years is around 40%.

When markets are booming, many people believe they can get rich quick. When the markets are faltering, you sometimes hear people say: “Investing is pointless anyway; better to use the money today.”

Neither of these attitudes leads to financial success: Saving money is a marathon.

Over the past 25 years, indirect Swiss real estate investments have contributed to satisfactory results for many investors, including pension funds.

But “how they are packaged” has led to varying outcomes. What can we learn from this?

I have a confession to make: In my article of the same name in NZZ of 24 April 2008 (only available in German) I made a mistake.

I came to the conclusion that hedge funds are unable to improve on either the returns or risk of a mixed portfolio of shares and bonds, particularly after costs are taken into account.