Winners and losers in 2011 bear marketShare | By AAP |...

Winners and losers in 2011 bear market
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By AAP | 19.12.2011 04:05 PM

Stellar investor returns were few and far between in 2011, but some shareholders still managed to achieve double-digit gains or better.

Overshadowing sentiment for most of the year was the European debt crisis, which combined with lower commodity prices to hit the share prices of market heavyweights in the resources sector.

Instead, it was the providers of services to the resources sector that gained solid ground.

"The people who made money in the gold rush were the people who sold the shovels," Austock Securities senior client adviser Michael Heffernan told AAP.

Equipment lease outfit National Hire was one such winner this year, Mr Heffernan said.

Its shares almost tripled this year, starting at $1.30, then shooting past $3.30 in mid-September when the Kerry Stokes-chaired Seven Group launched a successful takeover bid.

The deal has added another mining-related string to the mogul's bow, given that Seven Group already owns local Caterpillar dealer WesTrac.