FYI: Future returns on stocks may well be lower than the past decade’s lavish annual average of nearly 14%. Even so, we should thank our lucky stars for living at a time when we can capture nearly all the return stocks produce.
That wasn’t always the case. Until a few decades ago, earning the stock market’s total return—changes in price, plus the additional growth obtained by reinvesting dividend income—was nearly impossible. Not only were trading costs and fund expenses vastly higher than today; the technology to capture total return didn’t exist.
Some of the many readers who tweeted, commented and emailed about my column last week on the Crash of 1929 seem to have missed this important distinction.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.wsj.com/articles/sometimes-the-stock-market-needs-knights-of-faith-11572620223?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1