What's a Good Return on Investment (ROI)? (2024)

FAQs

What's a Good Return on Investment (ROI)? ›

Looking at investments in stocks and what would be a “good” ROI in this context, we see that many finance professionals agree that an ROI of over 10.5 percent is “good.” This is the average return for the S&P 500, an index that serves as a performance benchmark for the US stock market.

General ROI: A positive ROI is generally considered good, with a normal ROI of 5-7% often seen as a reasonable expectation. However, a strong general ROI is something greater than 10%. Return on Stocks: On average, a ROI of 7% after inflation is often considered good, based on the historical returns of the market.

A good return on investment is generally considered to be around 7% per year, based on the average historic return of the S&P 500 index, adjusted for inflation. The average return of the U.S. stock market is around 10% per year, adjusted for inflation, dating back to the late 1920s.

Return on Investment (ROI)

This calculation works for any period, but there is a risk in evaluating long-term investment returns with ROI. That's because an ROI of 80% sounds impressive for a five-year investment but less impressive for a 35-year investment.

Most investors would view an average annual rate of return of 10% or more as a good ROI for long-term investments in the stock market.

While the term good is subjective, many professionals consider a good ROI to be 10.5% or greater for investments in stocks. This number is the standard because it's the average return of the S&P 500 , an index that serves as a benchmark of the overall performance of the U.S. stock market.

Generally, the higher your ROI is over 100%, the better. If you have an ROI of just 100%, you essentially made your initial money back when accounting for costs.

The simple annual average ROI of 10%–which was obtained by dividing ROI by the holding period of five years–is only a rough approximation of annualized ROI. This is because it ignores the effects of compounding, which can make a significant difference over time.

While quite a few personal finance pundits have suggested that a stock investor can expect a 12% annual return, when you incorporate the impact of volatility and inflation, 7% is a more accurate historical estimate for an aggressive investor (someone primarily invested in stocks), and 5% would be more appropriate for ...

The average annual return for the S&P 500, when adjusted for inflation, over the past five, 10 and 20 years is usually somewhere between 7.0% and 10.5%. This means that if your portfolio is returning better than 10.5%, you have a good ROI.

What is a realistic rate of return? ›

As a result, keeping a realistic rate of return in mind can help you aim for a defined target. Many consider a conservative rate of return in retirement 10% or less because of historical returns.

A stock portfolio focused on dividends can generate $1,000 per month or more in perpetual passive income, Mircea Iosif wrote on Medium. “For example, at a 4% dividend yield, you would need a portfolio worth $300,000.

According to conventional wisdom, an annual ROI of approximately 7% or greater is considered a good ROI for an investment in stocks. This is also about the average annual return of the S&P 500, accounting for inflation. Because this is an average, some years your return may be higher; some years they may be lower.

Imagine you wish to amass $3000 monthly from your investments, amounting to $36,000 annually. If you park your funds in a savings account offering a 2% annual interest rate, you'd need to inject roughly $1.8 million into the account.

If the market averages 4% over a tough 5 year period, then your investment account should do at least that well. If the market is up 24% over an awesome three year period, then your long-term investments should keep pace with this, assuming that you have at least a moderate risk tolerance.

A 20% return is possible, but it's a pretty significant return, so you either need to take risks on volatile investments or spend more time invested in safer investments.

Is 30% Good ROI? An ROI of 30% can be good, but it can depend on how long your ROI has been at 30% in previous years. A 1-year ROI of 20% compared to 3-years of a 30% ROI can be considered a better investment.