Do most investors beat the S&P 500?
Commonly called the S&P 500, it's one of the most popular benchmarks of the overall U.S. stock market performance. Everybody tries to beat it, but few succeed.
Less than 10% of active large-cap fund managers have outperformed the S&P 500 over the last 15 years. The biggest drag on investment returns is unavoidable, but you can minimize it if you're smart.
Research: 89% of fund managers fail to beat the market
According to this report, 88.99% of large-cap US funds have underperformed the S&P500 index over ten years. As a whole, 78–97% of actively managed stock funds failed to beat the indexes they were benchmarked against over ten years.
S&P tech stocks beaten the index over the past decade
The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund gives investors exposure to the tech stocks that are part of the S&P 500. This includes the heavy hitters, such as Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, as well as many others.
Over the past decade, you would have done even better, as the S&P 500 posted an average annual return of a whopping 12.68%. Here's how much your account balance would be now if you were invested over the past 10 years: $1,000 would grow to $3,300. $5,000 would grow to $16,498.
Yes, you may be able to beat the market, but with investment fees, taxes, and human emotion working against you, you're more likely to do so through luck than skill. If you can merely match the S&P 500, minus a small fee, you'll be doing better than most investors.
So, if you had invested in Netflix ten years ago, you're likely feeling pretty good about your investment today. A $1000 investment made in March 2014 would be worth $9,728.72, or a gain of 872.87%, as of March 4, 2024, according to our calculations. This return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.
The Dalbar study generally shows that the average investor underperforms the market by a wide margin. For example, in 2018, the S&P 500 index returned -4.38%. The average equity mutual fund investor was down -9.42%.
The average investor may not have a very good chance of beating the market. Regular investors may be able to achieve better risk-adjusted returns by focusing on losing less. Consider using low-cost platforms, creating a portfolio with a purpose, and beware of headline risk.
It's awfully hard to beat the stock market consistently. In 2022, despite many advantages, most mutual funds couldn't do it. There are important lessons in that failure for this year and beyond. Recall that the S&P 500 declined 19.4 percent last year.
Does Warren Buffett recommend the S&P 500?
Here's where Buffett believes your money should go
And the following year, he made it even clearer: "I recommend the S&P 500 index fund, and have for a long, long time to people. And I've never recommended Berkshire to anybody."
The one time it's okay to choose a single investment
That's because your investment gives you access to the broad stock market. Meanwhile, if you only invest in S&P 500 ETFs, you won't beat the broad market. Rather, you can expect your portfolio's performance to be in line with that of the broad market.
The S&P 500 weighting system gives a small number of companies major influence, which could have an undue negative effect on the index if one or a few of them run into trouble. The index does not expose investors to small or emerging companies with the potential for market-beating growth.
Discount Rate | Present Value | Future Value |
---|---|---|
6% | $1,000 | $3,207.14 |
7% | $1,000 | $3,869.68 |
8% | $1,000 | $4,660.96 |
9% | $1,000 | $5,604.41 |
Meaning my $10,000 investment would now be worth $15,900. Now, if I'd bought into the pioneering EV producer five years ago, and held them through the 2022 retrace and the 2023 rebound, I would have seen those Tesla shares gain a stellar 756%. That would see my $10,000 investment balloon into $85,600.
This means that your $1,000 10 years ago — technically, $1,002 — would have bought 60 shares of Tesla. As of Mar. 3, 2024, those 60 shares of Tesla would be worth $12,158.40. That marks a 28.342% annual rate of return.
As a result, the broad-market index has an excellent historical track record of generating wealth. Over its history, the S&P 500 has generated an average annual return of 9%, including re-invested dividends. At that rate, even a middle-class income is enough to become a millionaire over time.
Once you've opened an investment account, you'll need to decide: Do you want to invest in individual stocks included in the S&P 500 or a fund that is representative of most of the index? Investing in an S&P 500 fund can instantly diversify your portfolio and is generally considered less risky.
Because the S&P 500 contains hundreds of large companies and represents the lion's share of total stock market value, it is considered a much better gauge of how the market is performing, even though it excludes thousands of smaller and midsize companies.
Microsoft's return is even more impressive than Apple's, as it turned $1,000 invested in its 1986 IPO to $4.1 million now. However, Microsoft's stock ride was rather bumpy, as its stock turned $1,000 into nearly $600,0000 by the turn of the century.
How long will it take for a $1000 investment to double in size when invested at the rate of 8% per year?
For example, if an investment scheme promises an 8% annual compounded rate of return, it will take approximately nine years (72 / 8 = 9) to double the invested money.
Which brings us to what you would have today if you had invested $1,000 in Netflix stock 20 years ago. First things first, however: if you purchased $1,000 worth of NFLX stock in early November 2003 and sold it at its November 2021 peak, you would have grossed nearly $158,000.
Basically, the rule says real estate investors should pay no more than 70% of a property's after-repair value (ARV) minus the cost of the repairs necessary to renovate the home. The ARV of a property is the amount a home could sell for after flippers renovate it.
General ROI: A positive ROI is generally considered good, with a normal ROI of 5-7% often seen as a reasonable expectation. However, a strong general ROI is something greater than 10%. Return on Stocks: On average, a ROI of 7% after inflation is often considered good, based on the historical returns of the market.
In new research published Monday by Ameriprise Financial, 80% of Americans with $1 million or more in investable assets said financial planning and investing enabled them to reach that benchmark.
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