Will an Aging America Cause Lower Stock Returns?

The relationship between supply and demand is widely understood in economics. But does an aging America mean future stock returns will be lower as older Americans sell stocks for day-to-day needs in retirement?

Most economists I’ve spoken with on the matter in recent years have expressed concern about this very dynamic. It’s also a rational, simple explanation for several things. But while supply and demand are still present forces, this thesis makes a number of implied assumptions. The foremost being that baby boomers will be the only supplier of savings (capital) to the productive businesses that need it (in the form of stock purchases in the primary/secondary markets).  Read the rest of this entry »

How Are My Investments Doing? Methods For Measuring Investment Performance

 

This is a common question we receive. Over the years, a frequent method I’ve observed investors use to answer this question is a simple rate of return, generally known as a holding period return. But there are two other methods available, and for various reasons I’ll show below, they are usually more appropriate to use.

Holding Period Return (HPR)

Also referred to as your cumulative return, this value does not take into account the impact of time (did it take 1 year or 9 to earn the return?), and does not adjust for the impact of what dollars were invested, and when. It is generally reported as a single return percentage.

Internal Rate of Return (IRR) Read the rest of this entry »