The stock market has been around for a long time, and many people have made good money investing in it. But, when you invest your money into the stock market, what will be the average return on investment? Many factors influence how much you will make when investing in stocks.
What is the average stock market return over time?
An average annual return is the percentage change in a single year. Annual returns are always positive but negative because of inflation. Knowing how to increase your average annual return can make you wealthier over time, but not necessarily right away.
The average is about 12% annually. That means if you invest $2000 in a given year, the value of your investments should grow to around $2400 after factoring in for inflation and taxes. Past market performance can serve as a guide, and the longer the range you’re forecasting, the more likely the market is to follow similar trends.
Negative stock market returns occur, on average, about one out of every four years. Historical data shows that the positive years far outweigh the negative years. Between 2000 and 2019, the average annualized return of the S&P 500 Index was about 8.87%.
In any given year, the actual return you earn may be quite different than the average return, which averages out several years’ worth of performance. Between 1990 and today, you can see there have been up years and down years, but over this 30-year period, those fluctuations have averaged out as a positive return.
The actual number can vary widely from person to person depending on many factors, including interest rates when they are investing money into stocks, what type of companies they choose to invest in, their risk tolerance level, etc.
Why did this happen?
There are a few reasons why you could see a bigger or smaller return than the average. One of the primary reasons for these crashes was that there wasn’t enough regulation to protect investors from fraud or unethical business practices, which resulted in market volatility — lots of ups and downs with no real direction over time. As a result, stock prices would jump up high only to come crashing down later on.
Another reason why stock values continued to fall even after World War II ended was that many people got out of stocks entirely during The Great Depression, thinking it might happen again! It took a long time for them to become confident once more about investing their money into equities.
When you have an entire generation not participating in the stock market, it makes sense for prices to drop significantly.
Today’s market is much different than it was when The Great Depression took place. It’s regulated more closely, but there are also many protections in place for investors to protect them from fraud and unethical business practices.
How do you calculate your returns?
The average return on your investment (ROI) is calculated by taking the value of an asset at a certain point in time and subtracting it from its original price. For example, if you invested $1000 into stocks one year ago, but today that same investment only has a value of $950 — your ROI would be -$50 because you lost money!
If, instead, you sold all the assets in another year when they were worth around $1100 for a total gain after taxes and inflation — then your ROI would have been +$100 over this period. In other words, the return was 100% which indicates how much better off financially you are now than before investing in stocks.
It’s important to note that you need to factor in inflation rates as well. For example, if your investment lost money, but the value of everything else increased — then your financial position is still better off than it was before investing because you can buy more stuff now with what little funds you have leftover after taxes and inflation!
The stock market is a risky investment, but it also has the highest returns. So if you’re willing to take on risks and invest for the long term — there are plenty of opportunities out there to make your money grow! Remember that past performance does not necessarily indicate future results, as we learned with The Great Depression.
Why does it matter what my average stock market return is?
It matters a lot if you’re investing your own money to get better returns. However, if you have an advisor, then they should be providing this information for you! Your average stock market return is crucial because it lets you know whether or not the state of the economy and stock prices are doing well over time.
When stocks perform poorly overall, but your portfolio performs above average, you will still earn more than usual by staying invested in them (for example: in 2008 when almost everyone lost their shirt in the stock market — some held on and ended up making significant gains!).
One of the key takeaways is this, despite the bad press about the stock market and the risk associated with dipping your financial toes in the ponds of stock investing, America’s financial markets produce great wealth for its participants over time.
You can use these averages as benchmarks when considering where else to invest your funds and when you should re-enter if your investments have already performed poorly.
How to increase your average annual return?
Based on the information you know now — if you want to increase your average annual stock market return, then it means that over time through good economic times and bad times — your investment should perform better than its benchmark or other similar investments as well CPI (inflation). There are a few methods for trying to do this:
- Consistency. Stay invested in the same company/industry throughout all years! If one style doesn’t work out, try another so long as your recurring costs don’t outweigh investment gains. This can be risky, though, too, since sometimes specific industries will experience hyper-growth. In contrast, others fail, causing investors who stayed consistent to lose everything they had put into them!
- If you are looking for ways to increase your stock market average returns that would benefit you immediately, then look no further than dividend investing, where dividends are reinvested into more company shares, which increases long-term wealth due to compounding interest.
- It still has been shown historically that participating in the up and down cycles of stocks will have better results instead of dollar-cost averaging or moving money from cashback into an index fund after experiencing losses during bear markets.
Should I invest in stocks or bonds for retirement savings?
Bonds are generally safer than stocks but historically have lower returns. Stocks may be riskier but also provide higher long-term returns. The decision to invest in both will depend on your situation and what you believe the future has in store for these markets.
If you’re looking to build wealth, then it is likely that bonds would outperform over time because of their low volatility rate compared to stock prices which tend to fluctuate more often.
If investors continue seeking higher yields, especially with interest rates being so close to zero percent from the Fed’s perspective right now, then this could change quickly, giving way for a shift towards equities instead of just bonds as investors seek better opportunities elsewhere outside of cash instruments such as CDs and money market accounts.
What are some of the best ways to minimize risk and still get a good return on investment (ROI) in the stock market?
One of the best investment advice to minimize risk is diversification when investors split their money into more than one type of assets like bonds or stocks. This reduces volatility because if one sector does poorly over time, then another will likely increase in value resulting in positive returns overall instead of zero (0).
Diversifying can also help avoid significant losses from investments going down because not all assets decline at the same rate during market corrections. It’s vital for individuals who are investing through self-directed brokerage accounts such as Robinhood to use tools that let them do tax loss harvesting so they can write off these types of losses against other gains realized throughout the year.
The best way to minimize risk and still get a good return on investment (ROI) in the stock market is by reducing your exposure to big dips. You can do this by using stop-loss orders that sell if an asset drops below a certain point, holding more cash than you usually would, or buying out of the money put options when prices are high, which gives you downside protection while allowing for upside potential with limited risk.
The idea behind these methods is not only providing immediate safety but also creating opportunities down the road. For example, selling at higher price points allows an investor to accumulate shares over time instead of having all their capital invested upfront during bearish conditions.
In conclusion
Financial decisions are never easy, but understanding the basics of stock market returns can help you make better-informed choices. The average return of the stock market is around seven percent, though this number can be higher or lower in any given year. Riskier stocks may provide higher returns, but they are also more volatile. Diversifying your portfolio and investing for the long term can help you earn a higher return while minimizing risk.
