That's not to say that, after what has been another eventful year, we are out of the woods just yet. As you will read in the 40 pages of features in this year's Christmas double issue, there are still many challenges left for politicians around the world to overcome.
Certainly at some point ‘can kicking’ has to make way for a solution to the more structural growth issues facing the economy. My colleague John Ficenec summed up the current situation rather neatly when he said we currently have two economies – the financial one, which only bankers, politicians and financial journalists really need to worry about, and which is in better shape than it has been for some time; and the real one that affects us every day, and which is still a pretty horrible place to be, especially if you happen to be under 25 and living in Greece or Spain.
For investors, that means it is still difficult to know what eventually to be prepared for, but we think our roundup of the big events to look out for will help.
I'm also sad to announce that this issue will see the last No Free Lunch column as Alistair Blair heads off to ventures new. To celebrate his 15 years contribution to the Investors Chronicle Alistair has written a special feature length column in this week's issue. But be warned: some of its contents may make you angry, not least the continuing problem with excessive executive pay (and similarly excessive charges for active fund management) for pathetic performance. And while, according to a recent report from KPMG, this year’s so-called ‘shareholder spring’ may have grabbed headlines but ultimately turned out to be “something of an illusion”, we’ll be carrying on the great work Alistair has done in holding the managers of companies and your money to account. Expect more AGM fireworks this year.
We’d like to wish Alistair all the best, and will no doubt be welcoming him back to the pages of the IC next year as he continues his campaign for an enduring proxy vote.
Finally, I’d like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a prosperous new year – hopefully we can get you off to a good start in our next issue on 4 January, which includes our 2013 tips of the year. Last year’s picks didn’t do too badly, up an average of 14 per cent so far in 2012, a better return than you’d have got from a FTSE 100 tracker. And our FTSE 350 review that comes out on 18 January should give you a great starting point for stock-picking of your own.
See you in 2013!
