[Marina]

Supposedly the “rule” is you should double your investments every 7 years. Have you doubled yours in the last 7? I’m trying to gauge and evaluate my investment company.

Thank you.

[Matt]

It would probably be difficult for a lot of people to answer this question because it could be a true double or it may just be a double because in the last seven years, they continued adding to the account.

[Eric]

Mine has all been in vtsax and I stopped adding to it exactly 7 years ago.

It has definitely not doubled.

[Jonathan]

I think what you’re trying to refer to is the “rule of 72“ where you take 72 divided by your rate of return, which should in theory be how long it takes for your money to double.

Based off of that, 10% return should be 7.2 years, 7% return should be 10ishyears give or take…

It’s not a hard math mathematical formula but an estimate.

[Justin]

VTI on January 24, 2018 closed at $145.28. Right now it’s trading at $301.12.

And that does not include dividends.

[Frank]

That is not a way to evaluate anything performance related. You should be comparing their performance to something similarly risky.
So, if you are trying to accumulate wealth and are willing to hold 100% stocks, it would be appropriate to compare their performance with the S&P 500 or similar.

But if you told them you only wanted to be investing 50% in stocks, you would need a difference comparison metric.

THERE IS NO RULE THAT INVESTMENTS DOUBLE EVERY SEVEN YEARS. There is a mathematical formula that says that if you have an investment that grows at 10% per year, it will double in seven years.

It is called the Rule of 72. But it is just math. The reason people use it in this way is because the average growth rate of the stock market over the past 100 years has been a little more than 10%.

However, the actual growth of the stock market in any seven year period HAS ALMOST NEVER BEEN 10%.

It is usually much more or much less. It has been more recently.

[Mark]

if u posted what funds ur in and what they’re charging u, most ppl here will tell u if they are solid or not

[Jacob]

If you are paying someone to manage your investments and it hasn’t doubled in these last 7 years they have failed you greatly.

[Larry]

It is The Rule of 72. It says you divide 72 by the interest rate you earn to arrive at the number of years it would take to double your investment.

Likewise you divide 72 by the number of years by which you would like to see it double to determine the interest rate you need to achieve that.

[Daniel]

If your investment company didn’t beat the S&P500, net of fees, and the time they took from you.. it’s not worth it.

[Jake]

Doubling in 7 years is 10% per year if every year is the same. Sequence of returns matters too. S&P500 or similar index has returned this or better for a long time, so I do think it’s a good baseline.

Most people here will say just invest in the total market without fees with whatever brokerage you’re using.

If you’re paying someone to invest for you then maybe you’re losing to fees or bad decisions.

[Katie]

I only choose an investment company for low fees and ease of use. I evaluate and choose the investments, so it’s not the company that is the issue if returns are low.

[Stephanie]

Who is going to stop contributing until FIRE? Dumb. Yes, mine have doubled in less than 7 yrs but I still contribute cuz I ain’t stupid

[Author]

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