Return
How much an investment gained or lost, usually as a percentage per year.
What is an investment's return?
Return is an investment's gain relative to what you put in. If you invested 1,000 lei and a year later have 1,080, the return was 8%.
The annualised return spreads the gain over the years, as if it had grown at the same pace each year. An investment that doubled in ten years returned about 7.2% a year, not 10%, because of compounding.
Nominal return is what the statement shows. Real return takes inflation out. Total return includes reinvested dividends or interest as well as the change in price. When you compare two investments, compare the same kind of return.
Past returns describe what happened. They promise nothing about the years ahead.
Doubling in 10 years = 7.2% a year. Doubling in 20 years = 3.5% a year.
What does annualised return mean?
The constant yearly pace that would have produced the same final result. Doubling in ten years means about 7.2% a year.
What has the US stock market returned historically?
Over 30-year periods since 1871, the median real return with dividends reinvested was 6.8% a year. Over single years it ranged from losses of more than 50% to gains of more than 100%.
Related terms
Sources
- Robert J. Shiller, monthly US stock market data (ie_data.xls), accessed 27 September 2026 · shillerdata.com
This page explains mechanisms and shows what happened in the past. It does not recommend products, say what to buy, or take your situation into account.