What percent of people beat the S&P 500?
From 2010 through 2021, anywhere from 55 percent to 87 percent of actively managed funds that invest in S&P 500 stocks couldn't beat that benchmark in any given year. Compared with that, the results for 2022 were cause for celebration: About 51 percent of large-cap stock funds failed to beat the S&P 500.
For example, the last time the average active U.S. stock fund beat the S&P 500 stock index for a full calendar year was in 2009. And over a full 20-year period ending last December, fewer than 10 percent of active U.S. stock funds managed to beat their benchmarks.
Information technology was the only stock market sector to beat the S&P 500 over the last five years (and the last 10 years). The Vanguard Information Technology ETF is a great option for investors that lack exposure to technology stocks.
The long-term performance data show active management has a lot of catching up to do. Over the past 10 years, less than 7% of U.S. active equity funds have beaten the market, according to the Spiva U.S. scorecard .
Financial Advisors Rarely Beat the Market
Large-cap fund managers – people who could be considered the most elite of the elite when it comes to financial advisors – are outpaced by the S&P 500 a staggering 92.2% of the time.
Why Warren Buffett recommends owning an S&P 500 index fund. Rather than relying solely on individual stocks, Warren Buffett believes most investors would do better to own "a cross-section of businesses that in aggregate are bound to do well." An S&P 500 index fund satisfies that goal.
—Don't try to beat the market. If you just manage to “be” the market, over the long run, you'll do just fine. The historic long-term average return of the S&P 500 index with dividends reinvested is 10%. Of course, that includes many years of double digit returns and some scary years of negative returns as well.
Investors often turn to Warren Buffett looking for stock tips, and he has given the same advice for years: Periodically put money into an S&P 500 index fund. Some readers may be surprised by that recommendation given that Buffett runs Berkshire Hathaway, but he has never actually recommended Berkshire stock to anyone.
Finally, if there are specific companies or industries that you're knowledgeable about, you may want to add individual stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to the mix. An S&P 500 index fund alone can absolutely achieve the growth needed to make you into a millionaire.
In many cases, it's not a matter of choosing between the S&P 500 and a financial advisor, as a financial advisor may recommend investing in the S&P 500 as part of a broader investment strategy.
Why doesn't everyone just invest in S&P 500?
Investing only in the S&P 500 does not provide the broad diversification that minimizes risk. Economic downturns and bear markets can still deliver large losses. The past performance of the S&P 500 is not a guarantee of future performance (yeap, and we'll get back to that!)
Even if you only have $1 and never invest another penny, you can be a millionaire in 30 years. It's just that you'd need to hit a home run S&P 500 stock — which returns at least 58.5% — each year.
From 2010 through 2021, anywhere from 55 percent to 87 percent of actively managed funds that invest in S&P 500 stocks couldn't beat that benchmark in any given year. Compared with that, the results for 2022 were cause for celebration: About 51 percent of large-cap stock funds failed to beat the S&P 500.
The study found that 70% of millionaires versus 37% of the general population work with a financial advisor. Moreover, 53% of wealthy people consider advisors to be their most trusted source of financial advice. Spouses/partners ranked a distant second at 11%, followed by business news at 10%.
If you're already working with an advisor, the simplest way to determine whether a 1% fee is reasonable may be to look at what they've helped you accomplish. For example, if they've consistently helped you to earn a 12% return in your portfolio for five years running, then 1% may be a bargain.
From an investor's perspective, it matters little whether managers are skilled or not, because fees eat up much of whatever skill and market-beating ability exists. Before costs and fees, active managers on average beat their benchmarks by 5 bp. After costs and fees, they underperform the benchmarks by 5 bp.
The Barriers
Investment fees are one major barrier to beating the market. If you take the popular advice to invest in an S&P 500 index fund rather than on individual stocks, your fund's performance should be identical to the performance of the S&P 500, for better or worse.
Buffett is seen by some as the best stock-picker in history and his investment philosophies have influenced countless other investors. One of his most famous sayings is "Rule No. 1: Never lose money.
Buffett handily topped the S&P 500 for nearly 40 years after he took control in 1965 when Berkshire was much smaller and his stock-picking was phenomenal. It has gotten tougher over the past two decades, but Buffett and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger think Berkshire can outperform in the years ahead.
In this episode of Common Sense Investing, I'm going to tell you why most financial advisors are not recommending index funds. I think that there are four main reasons that financial advisors are not excited about recommending index funds. Commissions, career risk, their value proposition, and a lack of knowledge.
What percent of traders beat the market?
And the percentage of active managers who do beat the market is usually pretty small – fewer than 8% in most of the cases above over the last 15 years; and they may not sustain that performance in the future.
Every year, before fees, half of investors achieve above the market average and half achieve below average. Once you add on the average 1% mutual fund fee and 1% advisor fee, the number of individual investors that achieve market beating results drops to somewhere around 20-30% in a given year.
S&P 500 Index Versus Nasdaq 100 Performance
Nasdaq 100 has outperformed S&P by a wide margin. The average 10-year return of Nasdaq 100 over these 15 years was around 9%, while that of S&P 500 was about 5%.
The rule of thumb advisors have traditionally urged investors to use, in terms of the percentage of stocks an investor should have in their portfolio; this equation suggests, for example, that a 30-year-old would hold 70% in stocks and 30% in bonds, while a 60-year-old would have 40% in stocks and 60% in bonds.
Berkshire has a history of outperforming the S&P 500 during recessions, and performing especially well during bear markets, according to data from Bespoke Investment Group. Since 1980, Berkshire shares have beat the broader market over the course of six recessions by a median of 4.41 percentage points.
- Real estate investment trusts, or REITs.
- Roth IRAs.
- Traditional IRAs.
- Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs.
- Index Funds or mutual funds.
- Individual company stocks.
- High-yield savings accounts.
- CDs.
Think About This: $10,000 invested in the S&P 500 at the beginning of 2000 would have grown to $32,527 over 20 years — an average return of 6.07% per year.
Is Investing in the S&P 500 Less Risky Than Buying a Single Stock? Generally, yes. The S&P 500 is considered well-diversified by sector, which means it includes stocks in all major areas, including technology and consumer discretionary—meaning declines in some sectors may be offset by gains in other sectors.
U.S. Equity Research is a Morningstar five-star gold-medal fund. It has no load and charges a low, 0.45% annual fee. Year to date, it's up 18.6%, versus the S&P 500's 15.5% gain. The fund beats the broad market and its Morningstar peers on a one-, three-, and five-year annualized basis.
No Control Over Holdings
Indexes are set portfolios. If an investor buys an index fund, they have no control over the individual holdings in the portfolio. You may have specific companies that you like and want to own, such as a favorite bank or food company that you have researched and want to buy.
Do millionaires invest in index funds?
Stocks and Stock Funds
Some millionaires are all about simplicity. They invest in index funds and dividend-paying stocks.
In 2002, the fallout from frenzied investments in internet technology companies and the subsequent implosion of the dot-com bubble caused the S&P 500 to drop 23.4%. And in 2008, the collapse of the U.S. housing market and the subsequent global financial crisis caused the S&P 500 to fall 38.5%.
A common misconception is that rich people pick stocks themselves, when in fact, wealthy investors are often putting their cash in index funds, ETFs, and mutual funds, Tu told MarketWatch Picks.
Alice Rowen Hall, director of Rowen Homes, suggests that “individuals should aim to save at least 20% of their annual income by age 25.” For example, if someone is earning $60,000 per year, they should aim to have $12,000 saved by the age of 25.
Meet Ashu Sehrawat one of Indias youngest millionaires at 22. Ashu Sehrawat rose fast to prominence in India as a renowned stock trader and self-made millionaire. At just 22, he is a successful day trader and swing trader who is continually growing and refining his strategy.
Returns in the S&P 500 over the coming decade are more likely to be in the 3%-6% range, as multiples and margins are unlikely to expand, leaving sales growth, buybacks, and dividends as the main drivers of appreciation.
Warren Buffett
Buffett might be the most famous investor of all. Known as the "Oracle of Omaha," he worked for and learned from Graham until the value investing pioneer retired. Buffett then proceeded to establish his own investing partnership to focus on buying stakes in quality companies at fair prices.
With a significant focus on high-performing sectors like Technology, Consumer Discretionary, and Health Care, the Nasdaq-100 has managed to outshine the S&P 500 by a considerable margin from December 31, 2007, to September 30, 2023.
| FRC | First Republic Bank | $23.03 |
|---|---|---|
| NUVB | Nuvation Bio | $1.64 |
| FFIE | Faraday Future Intelligent Electric | $0.45 |
| MULN | Mullen Automotive | $0.14 |
| PRLD | Prelude Therapeutics | $6.74 |
Oftentimes, financial advisors require minimum investment thresholds so that 1% fee can cover their costs to manage your money. After all, 1% of a $100,000 minimum means they only earn $1,000 in a year from your account.
Can financial advisors make 7 figures?
Financial advisors who sail past low six figures and enter high six figures (and sometimes seven figures) have mastered two things: leverage and scale. Leverage is all about having things work separately from your time.
Wealth management is one of the highest-paying financial advisor jobs. They work with high-net-worth individuals and families to manage their investments and assets. Plus, they provide personalized investment strategies and financial planning services to help clients achieve their long-term financial goals.
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With an annual management fee of 0.30 percent, Morgan Stanley falls in the middle of the range for robo-advisors. While 0.30 percent doesn't sound like much, that means it will cost $30 for every $10,000 you have invested.
Key takeaways
Investors who work with an advisor are generally more confident about reaching their goals. Industry studies estimate that professional financial advice can add between 1.5% and 4% to portfolio returns over the long term, depending on the time period and how returns are calculated.
Over the full period, just 2% of actively managed Large-Cap Core funds beat the S&P 500. Even in categories such as small- and mid-sized stocks, and growth — which benefited from the tailwinds of an outperforming universe — a minimum of 81% of actively managed funds underperformed the benchmark.
| Fund | Seven-year return | One-year return |
|---|---|---|
| JPM America Equity | 208% | 43.6% |
| Brown Advisory US Flexible Equity | 207% | 40.9% |
| JPM US Select Equity Plus | 205% | 34.1% |
| BlackRock US Dynamic | 203% | 40.7% |
Dave divides his mutual fund investments equally between four types of funds: Growth and income, growth, aggressive growth, and international. This lowers your investment risk because now you're invested in hundreds of different companies all over the world in a whole bunch of different industries.
Berkshire has a history of outperforming the S&P 500 during recessions, and performing especially well during bear markets, according to data from Bespoke Investment Group. Since 1980, Berkshire shares have beat the broader market over the course of six recessions by a median of 4.41 percentage points.
Financial Advisors Don't Try to Beat the Market. Beating the market isn't a financial advisor's job. Instead, financial advisors serve more as a coach and counselors, helping you set financial goals, talking you through the tough times, and persuading you not to make emotion-based decisions.
Can you get rich from S&P?
All that matters is how patient you are and which S&P 500 stocks you buy. Even if you only have $1 and never invest another penny, you can be a millionaire in 30 years. It's just that you'd need to hit a home run S&P 500 stock — which returns at least 58.5% — each year. That's a tall order, yes.
Is Investing in the S&P 500 Less Risky Than Buying a Single Stock? Generally, yes. The S&P 500 is considered well-diversified by sector, which means it includes stocks in all major areas, including technology and consumer discretionary—meaning declines in some sectors may be offset by gains in other sectors.
Since that time, Berkshire Hathaway stock has gained 3,787,464%, or more than 153 times the S&P 500's gains over the same time period -- good enough to give you roughly $355 million based on a $10,000 investment.
Ultimately, CEO Buffett and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger have said, investors should consider an S&P 500 index fund over Berkshire Hathaway if it can't top the index over an extended period.
Buffett personally lost about $25 billion in the financial crisis of 2008 and his company, Berkshire Hathaway, lost its revered AAA rating.
Many financial advisers charge based on how much money they manage on your behalf, and 1% of your total assets under management is a pretty standard fee. But psst: If you have over $1 million, a flat fee might make a lot more financial sense for you, pros say.
Of high-net-worth individuals, 70 percent work with a financial advisor. You can compare that to just 37 percent in the general population.
The average fee for a financial advisor generally comes in at about 1% of the assets they are managing. Be mindful that you may still pay a higher nominal dollar as there's a higher base the percent fee is applied to.
