IRA Returns
I've been doing an IRA since 1997, and for Mary
since we were married in 1999. I just used a spreadsheet to figure out what our
annual returns have been over the last almost ten
years.
My stocks have averaged almost
27% per year growth. It doesn't feel like it. I feel like I've picked an awful
lot of dogs, but a couple of big winners (like CEDC, ATS Medical, and Marvel)
have dragged the rest of them
up.
Mary's IRA, which I manage
completely without her knowledge, is full of much more conservative investments.
I avoid stocks that stand a substantial chance of decline. (I used to, anyway.
Her biggest single investment now is Sanderson Chicken (SAFM), which could
easily plummet if the Chicken Flu struck the US.) Her portfolio has averaged
only 19% per year over the past 8 years. Still, not
bad.
Just for fun, I extrapolated
forward with the same high returns: In 2036 we would be worth over $120
million. Isn't compound interest
fun?
Alas, regular growth like that is
pretty much impossible. Though Warren Buffett did it.
Filed Fri - March 24, 2006, 02:24 PM in
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