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Wait, how would you guarantee 5%? I don't see "put it in an index fund" as "pretty much guaranteed".
by tunesmith 7y ago
Wait, how would you guarantee 5%? I don't see "put it in an index fund" as "pretty much guaranteed".
- ghaff 7y agoAnnuities, high grade corporate or muni bonds, mix in some high dividend yield blue chips, etc. I'd mix with some riskier investments that were higher return on average. Nothing is guaranteed if things go totally to hell, of course. (And I did make the qualification of not being pegged to inflation.) But unless we get to a very bad place, I think that assuming 5% on these sorts of investments is a pretty safe bet. (ADDED: But pick your own number. 3-4% probably is closer to the really very safe modulo inflation given instruments like CDs in that range. But you're reinforcing my basic point. $2M is not really the basis for a huge annual income in perpetuity or even over a multi-decade timescale if you don't have other income streams to add to that mix.)
- syncsynchalt 7y agoThe market return for the past century has been something like 7% (after inflation). If you're investing in time spans longer than 10 years then typically you expect something in that range. Past performance does not promise future results, and the world could end tomorrow, but it's not a bad idea to plan that you'll get an average of 5%+ on market investment. (I'll note that you're responding to someone saying "pretty much guaranteed" and dropped that qualifier in your question).
- tunesmith 7y agoI know about that, I meant besides that. An average return doesn't mean a consistent return from year to year - e.g. $100,000 / year from 2 million. I was just curious how other people would invest to target a high probability of 5% each year.