Retail Investors Generate Rare Positive Performance In 2017, Report Shows

Retail investors had a rare year in 2017, and not just because the S&P 500 was up 21.83%. 2017 was unique because retail investors performed close to stock market benchmarks, a study from DALBAR reveals. The rare winning year belies a long history of average investors underperforming the S&P 500, however, as investors timing the market was the least effective in 2017.

In 2017, the average equity fund investor underperformed the S&P 500 by only 1.19%, up 20.64% to the S&P 500’s 21.83%, according to the DALBAR report "Quantitative Analysis of Investor Behavior." While underperformance may not sound positive, for retail investors it is a fact of life....