THE 1997 Asian financial crisis, the 2000 technology sector sell-down, Sept 11 terrorist attacks, followed by Bali bombing, and another Gulf War have quashed investors' confidence in equities time after time. Most have turned to bonds and time deposit as alternatives.  

According to Lipper, bonds have been the best asset class, returning 58% between January 1998 and June 2003. However, unlike stocks, most investors are not able to gain direct exposure into the local bond market. Most investors choose bond unit trust funds instead.