Success in a Low-Return World : Palgrave Macmillan : 9783319998541 : 3319998544 : 27 Nov 2018 : Following the Great Financial Crisis, the S&P 500 advanced more than 17 percent annualized from February 2009 through June 2018. At this pace, a buy-and-hold investor in the stock market would see their money double in 5 years and more than triple in 7 years. This performance has lulled many investors into thinking that such above-average returns will be with us into perpetuity. Unfortunately, this may not be the case. Far more likely, the return an investor may receive from the stock market will be slightly better than half the long-term average, about 5% to 7%. Most investment portfolios hold a greater allocation to stocks than any other class of investment asset. Massive amounts of wealth were created from the bull market since early 2009 providing institutions and individuals with a rising tide that lifted their portfolios above their goals without much effort. The environment of the fu