Schwab's 7 Investing Principles

Original data was based on 1,269 observations and came from a special retirement planning module for the 2004 Health and Retirement Study targeting Americans over the age of 50. Source: Lusardi, Annamaria, and Mitchell, Olivia S., "Financial Literacy and Planning: Implications for Retirement Wellbeing," May 2011, page 29. ©2011 by Annamaria Lusardi and Olivia S. Mitchell. All rights reserved.

Source: Schwab Center for Financial Research with data from Morningstar. The hypothetical portfolio is invested entirely in the S&P 500^® Index from January 1, 1998–December 31, 2017 for Maria, and from January 1, 2008–December 31, 2017 for Ana. The end amount includes capital appreciation and dividends. Dividends are assumed to be reinvested when received. Fees and expenses would lower returns. Ana's average annual rate of return is 6.9%; Maria's is 7.7%. The actual rate of return will fluctuate with market conditions. Past performance is no indication of future results.

Indexes are unmanaged, do not incur management fees, costs and expenses, and cannot be invested in directly.

Source: Schwab Center for Financial Research with data from Morningstar. The year begins on the first trading day in January and ends on the last trading day of December, and daily total returns were used. Returns assume reinvestment of dividends. Fees and expenses would lower returns. When out of the market, cash is not invested. Market returns are represented by the S&P 500 Index, an index of widely traded stocks. Top days are defined as the best performing days of the S&P 500 during 2009. This chart represents a hypothetical investment and is for illustrative purposes only. Past performance is no indication of future results.

Source: Schwab Center for Financial Research with data provided by Morningstar. The two periods were selected to show how defensive asset classes performed when US stocks decrease by more than 20% annually within the last 20 years (1997-2016). Indexes representing each asset class are S&P 500® TR Index (US stocks), Citi Treasury Bill 3 Month Index (cash), Bloomberg Barclays US Treasury 3-7 Year TR Index (treasuries), S&P GSCI Precious Metal TR Index (precious metals), Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Ex-US Bond TR Index (international bonds). Returns assume reinvestment of dividends and interest. Fees and expenses would lower returns. International investing may involve greater risk than U.S. investments due to currency fluctuations, unforeseen political and economic events, and legal and regulatory structures in foreign countries. Such circumstances can potentially result in a loss of principal. Past performance is no indication of future results.

Source: Schwab Center for Financial Research with data from Morningstar. The portfolio above is composed of 50% stocks and 50% bonds on 12/31/2002, and is not rebalanced through 12/31/2007. Asset class allocations are derived from a weighted average of the total monthly returns of indexes representing each asset class. The indexes representing the asset classes are the S&P 500 Index (stocks) and the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (bonds). Returns assume reinvestment of dividends and interest. Indexes are unmanaged, do not incur fees and expenses, and cannot be invested in directly. Rebalancing may cause investors to incur transaction costs and, when rebalancing a non-retirement account, taxable events may be created that may increase your tax liability. Rebalancing a portfolio cannot ensure a profit or protect against a loss in any given market environment.