A mainstream savings account would have outperformed the average unit trust over the past eight years, the BBC reports.
Cash savings have outperformed stocks and shares over the past eight years, research commissioned by the BBC has shown.
The study found that £1,000 invested in a mainstream savings account offering an average rate of interest in 2000 would now have grown to £1,358. However, if this sum was put in a typical unit trust - a common investment vehicle for people looking to dabble in stocks and shares - it would be worth just £1,094.
This measly return was derived despite the global economy enjoying boom-time conditions for the majority of this eight-year period. Elsewhere, returns were not much better in an equity income fund - which would have generated £1,302.
The most impressive returns were found for commodities or natural resources funds: the impressive price rises marked since 2000 would have boosted a £1,000 investment to £3,260.
Jane Lowe, director of markets at the Investment Management Association (IMA), told the BBC that, despite the results, equities still represented a better long term investment than cash, and were not suitable for those investors looking to make a "quick buck". She added: "It is a longer term question of when you are putting your money in and when you are taking money out."
Thomson-Reuters Lipper conducted the new study on behalf of the broadcaster.
Compare savings accounts via money.co.uk
