My investments are losing money, yet I keep hearing Dave talk about 12 percent returns?
Great question and one we get often. The answer is that Dave is referring to the average annual return of the stock market since 1926, which is very near 12 percent annually when adjusted for inflation. Even the past few years of negative returns in your funds do very little to lower the average of the last 78 years. Remember, Dave considers investing to be a minimum of 5 years. Less than that is simply saving and should not be done with mutual funds. This is a good place to disclaim that the past is not an indicator of the future; but we do highly suggest factoring in long track records of success into your plans for the future.
