Historical returns: 1970–2025 comparisons

Sometimes the best moments are the unexpected ones. This week brought one of those moments when Daryl Bahls delivered an extraordinary surprise: access to every table used across our entire investing Boot Camp Series — months of work, ready ahead of schedule.

That gift makes it possible to move forward faster, including setting up pages for the upcoming Series and potentially releasing the tables before all the podcasts and articles are complete.

The White Coat Investor: 150+ Portfolios That Work

We revisit the White Coat Investor article “150 Portfolios Better Than Yours” (now over 200 portfolios), originally published in 2014.

The key lesson:
There is no single “best” portfolio — most of the portfolios are legitimate and effective. What matters most is:

• Choosing a sound portfolio

• Understanding why it works

• Staying the course over decades

Early success can be misleading, but the portfolio you choose in the beginning can mean millions of dollars more in the long-term.

Why Portfolio Design Matters So Much

Using historical data going back to 1970, we explore how different strategies produce dramatically different outcomes over time:

• S&P 500 only vs. globally diversified portfolios

• Multi–asset-class investing

• Value-focused portfolios (U.S. and international)

Even small starting amounts can lead to large differences over a lifetime.

What We Do — and What We Don’t Do To Help Investors 

We are:

• Focused on education

• Dedicated to do-it-yourself investors

• Grounded in academic research and evidence-based investing

We are not:

• Financial planners

• Estate planners

• Tax advisors

Our goal is to help investors build portfolios they can trust through good markets and bad — with the potential to land in the top 5–10% of long-term outcomes.

Preview: The 10-Part Boot Camp Series

Over the coming weeks, we’ll release a comprehensive boot camp covering:

1. Stocks vs. Bonds — why this decision alone can be a $10 million difference

2. Equity Asset Class Selection — based on academic research, not trends

3. Simple Sound Investing Portfolios — small, powerful, manageable

4. Adding Bonds Intelligently — controlling risk without killing returns

5. Long-Term Contributions — what steady investing really looks like

6. Fixed Withdrawal Strategies — taking distributions when you retire with only "enough"

7. Flexible Withdrawal Strategies — especially for those who’ve oversaved

8. Target-Date Funds & Glide Paths — with added diversification insights

9. ETF Selection — why DFA and Avantis may help investors stay the course

10. Investing for Children & Newborns — including new retirement account considerations

Each topic will eventually include:

• A podcast episode

• A written article

• Supporting data tables

Daryl has now produced 247 educational tables, all designed to support smarter portfolio decisions.  You will see all of them during the 10 week series.