The Bureau of Historic Losses · Counterfactual Division
What if you'd bought Telstra in 2008?
Mum-and-dad shareholders were still nursing the T2 float, where the second instalment had taken the price to $7.40 in 1999. By 2008 Telstra sat below $5, mid-GFC, and the great Australian privatisation was already the great Australian sore point.
$100 on 2008-01-01, worth today
A$333
As of 2026-06-12, $100 of Telstra bought at 2008's open (A$1.56) is worth A$333 — 3.33×.
total return · dividends reinvested · AUD
How much would $100 of Telstra bought in 2008 be worth today?
| You'd have put in | You'd have now | Multiple |
|---|---|---|
| A$100 | A$333 | 3.33× |
| A$1,000 | A$3,330 | 3.33× |
| A$10,000 | A$33,299 | 3.33× |
Lump sum on the year's first trading day, total return (dividends reinvested, splits adjusted), valued at the latest close. Past performance isn't a promise — it's a taunt.
What did Telstra do in 2008?
Opened
A$1.56
2008-01-01
Peaked
A$1.65
2008-05-21
Bottomed
A$1.24
2008-12-15
Closed
A$1.34
2008-12-30
Levels are dividend-adjusted, so historical figures look lower than the headline price of the day — that's the total-return lens, and it's the honest one.
Would steady buying have beaten going all in?
A$96,300 deployed as $100 a week from 2008-01-01, under four temperaments — same money, different nerves.
| All in on day one | A$320,671 |
| Steady weekly buys | A$220,831 |
| Sold dips, rebought rallies | A$228,587 |
| Traded it perfectly | A$390,719 |
“Traded it perfectly” requires knowing the future. Nobody knew the future.
The same $1,000, elsewhere
$1,000 at 2008's open, each valued at the latest close. Hindsight remains undefeated.
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