Can I expect 10% return over five years of investing? (2024)

A reader wants to know if he can expect “10% per annum” if the investment period is a “minimum of five years”. Again, regular readers of freefincal might dismiss this as a newbie mistake, but it is a common mistake and deserves some attention.

The first point to appreciate is unless we are investing in fixed-income instruments with a guaranteed return, there is no “per annum” return. In a capital market-linked instrument like mutual funds, we have no idea what the (final) returns will be, and they are computed in hindsight. That is at the end of the investment period. Therefore the thumb rule is to expect as low as possible.

Many investors try to compensate for their inability to invest more by taking on more risk assuming that it would fetch them higher rewards. This is a mistake. A higher risk only implies a higher risk. That is, the range of possible returns is higher, and we could end up with any return from a significant positive to a large negative value.

So how do we handle this uncertainty?

  • Time. The longer the investment period, the better the chance of us managing the portfolio as per our needs and reducing this uncertainty. Some claim that the longer the investment period, the better the chances of getting a “good return”. This is incorrect. The uncertainty associated with the stock marketnever dies down! See: The stock market always moves up in the long term, but returns move up and down! If we do not manage risk systematically, we will leave the fate of our investments to luck.
  • Asset allocation: The right mix of volatility (equity) and stability (fixed income) is essential. It is the simplest way to reduce return uncertainty. Yet most investors get this wrong. They either use too much equity for too short a time or too less equity for longer periods.

The asset allocation is primarily determined by the investment period. So to pull this off, we must be clear about when we need the money. Many investors first say they want to invest for five years, but when pressed about when they need the money, they say they can afford to invest for longer.

Join over 32,000 readers and get free money management solutions delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to get posts via email!

🔥 🔥

This is why it is crucial to separate short-term goals from longer-term goals. If someone says they can invest for a minimum of five years, we can only offer recommendations for the five years.

A duration of five years is still a fairly short time. The return uncertainty is hard to minimise over this period. Therefore, we recommend avoiding all equity if the goal is crucial (needs). For flexible goals (wants), you can consider a conservative hybrid fund like Parag Parikh Conservative Hybrid Fund.

However, do not expect 10% returns! Do not expect any returns! Just invest as much as you can each month, and there is a reasonable chance of getting 7-8% (assuming this is the only fund and the risk is unmanaged).

Finally, avoid the lure of high-interest-rate fixed deposits or bonds. These come with credit risk; recovery is nearly impossible if they fail.

Do share this article with your friends using the buttons below.

🔥Enjoy massive discounts on our courses, robo-advisory tool and exclusive investor circle! 🔥& join our community of 5000+ users!

Use our Robo-advisory Tool for a start-to-finish financial plan! More than 1,000 investors and advisors use this!

New Tool!=> Track your mutual funds and stock investments with this Google Sheet!

Can I expect 10% return over five years of investing? (1)
Can I expect 10% return over five years of investing? (2)
Can I expect 10% return over five years of investing? (3)

Podcast: Let's Get RICH With PATTU! Every single Indian CAN grow their wealth!

Can I expect 10% return over five years of investing? (4)

You can watch podcast episodes on the OfSpin Media Friends YouTube Channel.

Can I expect 10% return over five years of investing? (5)
  • Do you have a comment about the above article? Reach out to us on Twitter: @freefincal or @pattufreefincal
  • Have a question? Subscribe to our newsletter with the form below.
  • Hit 'reply' to any email from us! We do not offer personalized investment advice. We can write a detailed article without mentioning your name if you have a generic question.

Join over 32,000 readers and get free money management solutions delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to get posts via email!

Explore the site! Search among our 2000+ articles for information and insight!

About The Author

Dr. M. Pattabiraman(PhD) is the founder, managing editor and primary author of freefincal. He is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He has over ten years of experience publishing news analysis, research and financial product development. Connect with him via Twitter, Linkedin, or YouTube. Pattabiraman has co-authored three print books: (1) You can be rich too with goal-based investing (CNBC TV18) for DIY investors. (2) Gamechanger for young earners. (3) Chinchu Gets a Superpower! for kids. He has also written seven other free e-books on various money management topics. He is a patron and co-founder of “Fee-only India,” an organisation promoting unbiased, commission-free investment advice.

Our flagship course! Learn to manage your portfolio like a pro to achieve your goals regardless of market conditions! More than 3,000 investors and advisors are part of our exclusive community! Get clarity on how to plan for your goals and achieve the necessary corpus no matter what the market condition is!! Watch the first lecture for free! One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos! Reduce fear, uncertainty and doubt while investing! Learn how to plan for your goals before and after retirement with confidence.

Our new course! Increase your income by getting people to pay for your skills! More than 700 salaried employees, entrepreneurs and financial advisors are part of our exclusive community! Learn how to get people to pay for your skills! Whether you are a professional or small business owner who wants more clients via online visibility or a salaried person wanting a side income or passive income, we will show you how to achieve this by showcasing your skills and building a community that trusts you and pays you! (watch 1st lecture for free). One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos!

Our new book for kids: “Chinchu gets a superpower!” is now available!

Most investor problems can be traced to a lack of informed decision-making. Wehave all made bad decisions and money mistakes when we started earning and spent years undoing these mistakes. Why should our children go through the same pain? What is this book about?As parents, what would it be if we had to groom one ability in our children that is key not only to money management and investing but to any aspect of life? My answer: Sound Decision Making. So in this book, we meet Chinchu, who is about to turn 10. What he wants for his birthday and how his parents plan for it and teach him several key ideas of decision-making and money management is the narrative. What readers say!

Must-read book even for adults! This is something that every parent should teach their kids right from their young age. The importance of money management and decision making based on their wants and needs. Very nicely written in simple terms. - Arun.

Buy the book: Chinchu gets a superpower for your child!

How to profit from content writing: Our new ebook is for those interested in getting side income via content writing. It is available at a 50% discount for Rs. 500 only!

Want to check if the market is overvalued or undervalued? Use our market valuation tool (it will work with any index!), or get the Tactical Buy/Sell timing tool!

We publish monthly mutual fund screeners and momentum, low-volatility stock screeners.

About freefincal & it's content policy. Freefincal is a News Media Organization dedicated to providing original analysis, reports, reviews and insights on mutual funds, stocks, investing, retirement and personal finance developments. We do so without conflict of interest and bias. Follow us on Google News. Freefincal serves more than three million readers a year (5 million page views) with articles based only on factual information and detailed analysis by its authors. All statements made will be verified with credible and knowledgeable sources before publication. Freefincal does not publish paid articles, promotions, PR, satire or opinions without data. All opinions will be inferences backed by verifiable, reproducible evidence/data. Contact information: letters {at} freefincal {dot} com (sponsored posts or paid collaborations will not be entertained)

Connect with us on social media

Our publications

You Can Be Rich Too with Goal-Based Investing

Can I expect 10% return over five years of investing? (9)Published by CNBC TV18, this book is meant to help you ask the right questions and seek the correct answers, and since it comes with nine online calculators, you can also create custom solutions for your lifestyle! Get it now.

Gamechanger: Forget Startups, Join Corporate & Still Live the Rich Life You Want Can I expect 10% return over five years of investing? (10)This book is meant for young earners to get their basics right from day one! It will also help you travel to exotic places at a low cost! Get it or gift it to a young earner.

Your Ultimate Guide to Travel

Can I expect 10% return over five years of investing? (11) This is an in-depth dive analysis into vacation planning, finding cheap flights, budget accommodation, what to do when travelling, and how travelling slowly is better financially and psychologically, with links to the web pages and hand-holding at every step. Get the pdf for Rs 300 (instant download)

Can I expect 10% return over five years of investing? (2024)

FAQs

Is it possible to get a 10% return on investment? ›

If one type of investment drops your entire portfolio won't take a hit and you'll be able to take advantage of potential strong returns with other assets. This way if one asset is returning 15% but another drops to only a 2% return, it's still possible for your entire portfolio to reach a steady 10%+ return.

What is a good return on investment over 5 years? ›

General ROI: A positive ROI is generally considered good, with a normal ROI of 5-7% often seen as a reasonable expectation. However, a strong general ROI is something greater than 10%. Return on Stocks: On average, a ROI of 7% after inflation is often considered good, based on the historical returns of the market.

Is 12% return possible? ›

Of course! The highest average 30-year geometric return was 13.7%, so it's definitely possible. At the same time, though, the lowest average 30-year geometric return has been 8.5%, so it's been lower as well.

What is the 10 year rule on investing? ›

The 10-year rule allows beneficiaries flexibility when tax planning for their inherited retirement account distributions. For example, the beneficiary of an account owner who died before the RBD could let the inherited account grow for 10 years and then take one large distribution in the tenth year.

Can I become a millionaire in 5 years by investing? ›

Let's say you want to become a millionaire in five years. If you're starting from scratch, online millionaire calculators (which return a variety of results given the same inputs) estimate that you'll need to save anywhere from $13,000 to $15,500 a month and invest it wisely enough to earn an average of 10% a year.

How much do I need to invest to make $1000 a month? ›

A stock portfolio focused on dividends can generate $1,000 per month or more in perpetual passive income, Mircea Iosif wrote on Medium. “For example, at a 4% dividend yield, you would need a portfolio worth $300,000.

How much money do I need to invest to make $3,000 a month? ›

Imagine you wish to amass $3000 monthly from your investments, amounting to $36,000 annually. If you park your funds in a savings account offering a 2% annual interest rate, you'd need to inject roughly $1.8 million into the account.

Can I get 10% return? ›

Yes, a 10% annual return is realistic. There are several investment vehicles that have historically generated 10% annual returns: stocks, REITs, real estate, peer-to-peer lending, and more.

Is 15% return possible? ›

Stock exchange markets are considered inherently unstable and unpredictable, however, in the long run, they eventually tend to rise, and though a return as good as 15% each year might not always be achievable in the stock market, an annual return of around 15% may be possible over the foreseeable future, but remember, ...

Is 20% return possible? ›

Relatively safer investments may see less volatility in an average year, but if you have a long enough timeline, you have the potential to earn that 20% return eventually.

What is a 10x return on investment? ›

Obviously, the way to calculate a return multiple is to divide the amount returned from an investment by the dollars invested. If I invested $10M in a company and got back $100M, that's a 10X return.

What is the 10x rule in investing? ›

While it is true that angel investors (like our dragons) typically seek 10 times their money back over 3-5 years that isn't the source of the "10x rule". The 10x rule means that in order to gain market traction a product must be exponentially better. ie 10 x faster, 10x smaller, 10x cheaper, 10x more profitable.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Gregorio Kreiger

Last Updated:

Views: 5883

Rating: 4.7 / 5 (57 voted)

Reviews: 80% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Gregorio Kreiger

Birthday: 1994-12-18

Address: 89212 Tracey Ramp, Sunside, MT 08453-0951

Phone: +9014805370218

Job: Customer Designer

Hobby: Mountain biking, Orienteering, Hiking, Sewing, Backpacking, Mushroom hunting, Backpacking

Introduction: My name is Gregorio Kreiger, I am a tender, brainy, enthusiastic, combative, agreeable, gentle, gentle person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.