Quantitative Analysis of Investor Behavior 2012

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MachineGhost
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Quantitative Analysis of Investor Behavior 2012

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The QAIB examines the real returns earned by investors in equity mutual funds, bond mutual funds, and asset allocation mutual funds.  Over the past twenty years, the average investor in an equity mutual fund has under-performed the S&P 500 Index by an annualized 4.3% per year. The S&P 500 returned an average of 7.81% for the 20-year period through 2011, but the average equity fund investor generated only 3.49% per year.

And unfortunately, the news just gets worse: In 2011 alone, the average equity fund investor generated -5.7% vs. the S&P 500 which generated 2.1% return (an under-performance of 7.85%). Investors in bond funds did far worse. Compared to the Barclays Aggregate Bond Index which has a trailing 20-year annualized return of 6.5% per year, the average investor in a bond fund gained an annualized return of only 0.94% per year over this same period. Investors in bond funds underperformed their benchmark index by -5.56% per year.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes

Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet.  I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
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Pointedstick
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Re: Quantitative Analysis of Investor Behavior 2012

Post by Pointedstick »

Ouch. Do they describe the reason for these poor returns?
Human behavior is economic behavior. The particulars may vary, but competition for limited resources remains a constant.
- CEO Nwabudike Morgan
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