Investors in US stocks enjoyed the best equity market performance since 2003 this year, but the road was not easy.

Fortune favoured the brave when stocks plumbed their lows during the summer and equity volatility jumped to its highest level in three years. As oil nudged $80 a barrel and the Fed was seemingly set for further rate hikes, the S&P 500 index was down 2 per cent from the start of the year, while the Nasdaq Composite was 8 per cent lower.