I'm not sure that the cited figure of 3-4% return today is truly representative of recent years. For example, for the popular pick VTSAX (Vanguard's Total Stoc

I'm not sure that the cited figure of 3-4% return today is truly representative of recent years. For example, for the popular pick VTSAX (Vanguard's Total Stock Market Index Fund), if you look at the average total return % for recent windows of time: - YTD: 16.23% - 1-Year: 4.43% - 3-Year: 13.28% - 5-Year: 9.97% - 10-Year: 14.15% - 15-Year: 8.91% The 1-year number is just skewed by the late 2018 market correction in the short term. Source: https://www.morningstar.com/funds/xnas/vtsax/betaquote.html https://www.morningstar.com/funds/xnas/vtsax/betaquote.html