Bloomsbury blog Shares: the best growth asset

Bloomsbury blog post, 09 February 2026

When it comes to building long-term wealth, few assets rival the power of shares. For NZ investors, share portfolios offer a rare mix of affordability, accessibility, transparency, and performance that’s hard to beat with other asset types.

In New Zealand, property has historically been the primary investment vehicle for everyday investors. But with high entry costs, limited liquidity, and a degree of hands-on management, it is worth considering the comparative benefits of shares.

Shares tend to be our preferred growth asset because:

• Investing in shares means owning portions of real businesses. You’re making capital available to companies, enabling them to grow, innovate, and create jobs, which adds real value to our economy. In contrast, property investment often involves trading the same asset for more money over time, without contributing to economic productivity.
• Diversification is easy and affordable with shares. For property and private equity, meaningful diversification often requires substantial capital.
• Shares are truly hands-off. When you invest in a company, its management team is responsible for running the business and putting your money to work. In that sense, shares are “self-managing” – a genuine form of passive income. Unlike property, there are no tenants to deal with and no maintenance headaches.
• Low fees! At their most basic, even everyday investors without access to sophisticated advice can access ultra-low cost funds. These funds often have enough flexibility to cover a wide range of investor preferences.
• Nothing beats listed shares for transparency. Shares are priced in real time and can be bought or sold with ease. Property and private equity are priced at the time of sale.
• Shares are one of the most liquid growth assets. Liquidity gives investors the ability to respond quickly should a change in circumstances or other emergency arise. Property, private equity, and derivatives such as options, can take more time and money to sell.

Shares also generate excellent returns over the long term. The figure below compares various historical returns of different assets and demonstrates the superior capital appreciation of shares compared to residential property over the last 90 years.

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Shares offer a rare combination of being both relatively low effort and low fee, while maintaining high transparency and liquidity, and excellent long-term returns. In addition to all of this, capital invested in shares is economically productive, funding innovation and growth, while capital tied up in property often circulates without creating new value. In most cases, shares should be the cornerstone of your growth strategy.