What investors look for in their stockings

New York: Despite another trying year, investors have been good little boys and girls. We made contributions to our retirement accounts, but have little to show for the effort. We reduced our tendency to overtrade. But, it doesn't seem like our holiday wishes have been granted over the past decade.

Most wanted

1. A consistent trend: Investors need some Dramamine after this year's wild swings. The second half of the year alone had more than a dozen swings between 5 per cent and 20 per cent. Despite all that, the market is unchanged year to date. It is the equivalent of a lump of coal in investors' stockings.

2. Yield, please: Those who live off their investment portfolios are having a tough time. Dear Fed chief Ben Bernanke: please normalise the interest rate policy. We don't ask for much: just risk-free, tax-free, real annual yields of 4 to 6 per cent.

3. More civil suits against corporate executives: We got an early Christmas present when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a suit against the chief executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These execs made "misleading and false disclosures" to investors about sub-prime exposure, according to the SEC. There must be many more execs at various firms who similarly misled investors. Securing convictions and huge fines against those who misrepresented their financial condition to the public would go a long way toward restoring investor confidence.

4. Good advice: Why is reasonably priced, intelligent personal financial advice so difficult to come by? We don't ask for much, just a person who will help us make money in good markets and prevent us from losing any in bad ones.

5. A bottom in housing: The ongoing residential real estate debacle continued this year. If housing prices do not stabilise, then the banks are still at risk. Without stable banks, we cannot see any sort of sustainable market move. Hence, a bottom in housing prices would be a treat.

6. Criminal indictments of robo-signers: Speaking of banks, they seem to have some employees who have violated the laws regarding perjury, foreclosure and litigation. Some of our state attorneys general have been very good this year at investigating them: kudos to New York, Delaware, California and Nevada.

7. Please fix Europe: Our largest trading partners in Europe are a mess. Their banks are filled with a different sort of sub-prime junk — the sovereign debt of over-leveraged nations.

8. No more volatility: The roller coaster ride in the markets these past few years has given us motion sickness. How about a nice calm market for next year, even if the gains are in the single digits?

9. End of the bear market: It has been 12 years since the stock market peaked in March 2000. How about an end to this bear market sooner rather than later? I know the last bear market lasted 16 years, until 1982, but I am not sure we can last six more years!