Choosing between ASX shares and crypto has been a major allocation question for Australian investors over the last decade.
Both assets have had a strange 12 months.
One delivered a modest but positive return, whereas the other lost roughly half its value.

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What ASX shares actually delivered in FY26
The simplest way to measure ASX shares as a group is through a broad index fund.
Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) is the obvious yardstick. The ETF tracking Australia’s largest 300 listed companies delivered a total gross return of 6.19% in FY26.
After a 0.07% management fee, investors kept a 6.12% net return.
The underlying S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) gained…






