What is considered lousy/average/good returns?

[taquito]

When talking about investments/trading, roughly how many % return per year is considered lousy/average/good ?

 

[Wishdom]

Benchmark to market returns.

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[hkchew03]

what is your risk appetite? To some, 4% CPF interest is very good already.

 

[Shiny Things]

When talking about investments/trading, roughly how many % return per year is considered lousy/average/good ?

There’s no one answer to this: it depends entirely on what your benchmark is. So if you’re going to go out and trade, make sure you pick an appropriate benchmark, and then be absolutely ruthless when you compare yourself to that benchmark: “is all this extra effort making me more money than I would have made if I’d just bought the index and gone to the pub?”.

Make sure you pick a sensible benchmark, too—a benchmark that reflects the universe of things you trade

Are you trading US stocks? You’re probably trading large-caps, so use the S&P 500 as your benchmark.
Are you trading SG stocks? Use the STI.
Are you trading long/short stocks? If you’re doing a 130/30 style thing, where you’re net long, then your benchmark is still the equity index; but if you’re doing market-neutral long-short, you should benchmark to short-term cash instead.
Are you trading commodities? Benchmark to the price of the thing you’re trading: is all your active trading giving you any benefit over just buying the thing and sticking it in a safe?

 

[hwmook]

When talking about investments/trading, roughly how many % return per year is considered lousy/average/good ?

My own personal benchmark is 5% average over long term for my own planning. So far i have been getting significantly higher than that over the past ~12 years of investing.

 

[junlove]

a 20% return when you just started, vested 10k, its nothing...

a 5% return yearly when you reach semi-retirement, on your few hundred ks or millions, is something...

a 20% return just when you about to retire... is called darn good karma...