The All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) gained 13% in 2021. A banner year for ASX shares, by historical standards.
Of course, not all shares are created equal. Some gained far more than the benchmark and some finished 2021 deep in the red.
Below we look at the 2 best and 2 worst performers on the All Ordinaries in the year just past.
2021's worst 2 performing All Ordinaries shares
The unwelcome prize for the worst performing All Ordinaries share in 2021 goes to buy now, pay later (BNPL) company Laybuy Holdings Ltd (ASX: LBY).
Investors broadly sold off BNPL shares in the latter half of the year, and the selling for Laybuy began in earnest back in February. Laybuy commenced trading in 2021 at $1.30 per share. By the closing bell on 31 December it was trading at 24 cents, down 82%. At the current share price, Laybuy has a market cap of $57 million.
Coming in a close second in the unwanted worst performing All Ordinaries category is fellow BNPL player, Splitit Ltd (ASX: SPT).
Splitit also fell prey to the shifting sentiments hitting the pay by instalment sector. The company kicked off the year just past trading at $1.30 and finished at 25 cents, down a painful 81%.
Investors likely also had an eye on the company's bottom line, which revealed FY21 losses of US$35.2 million, up from US$26.6 million in losses posted in FY20. At the current share price, Splitit has a market cap of $127 million.
Moving on to the biggest gainers on the All Ordinaries…
2021's top 2 performing ASX shares
Turning to the positive, the second best All Ordinaries share you could have held in 2021 was Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT).
Which brings us to the best performing All Ordinaries share of 2021, Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX).
Involved in graphite exploration and mining, battery technology, and battery materials, the company was a clear winner in the booming growth witnessed in the lithium-ion battery industry.
Novonix kicked off 2021 trading for $1.21 per share and finished the year at $9.19 per share for an eye-popping gain of 660%. At the current share price, the best All Ordinaries performer of 2021 has a market cap of $4.8 billion.
