Planning for the Lean Years

If the past two years' losses have lowered your expectations for stock returns, you might want to keep them there -- or even take them down another notch.

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Big Screen Archive: Solid Funds and How They Fit Together

That's the message from financial planners, fund managers and even Warren Buffett. Through the 1980s and 1990s, stocks rang up an 18% average annual gain, according to data from the Charles Schwab Center for Investment Research. That's far above the 11% historical average. The past two years' losses might lead you to expect a surge back to 1990s-type gains. But with a sluggish economy, interest rates due to rise and stocks looking far from cheap, experts are seeing more reasons for stock returns to stay below 11% than above it in coming years. ...