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Real returns

Real returns after inflation and money printing

Inflation-adjusted returns for every share, fund, index, commodity and coin we track, in dollars and pounds. Choose a period to see which beat US and UK inflation, and which grew faster than the money supply.

Monthly data checked

Key takeaways

Every asset ranked by real return

Pick a period and a lens. Each figure runs to that asset’s latest month (Oct 2026 for most). Assets with less history than the period are left out until you choose a shorter one.

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Period

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Ranked by Real $ (US CPI) over 10 years, to each asset’s latest month. 42 with enough history; 56 more start too recently for this period.

Every tracked asset and benchmark ranked by return over the chosen period, in every lens. Each figure is the total change, with the yearly rate under it.
# Asset
1 Ethereum ETH · Crypto +21,995% 71.6% a year +20,289% 70.2% a year +15,844% 66.1% a year +14,269% 64.3% a year +12,323% 62.0% a year
2 NVIDIA NVDA · Stock +12,788% 62.6% a year +11,793% 61.3% a year +9,200% 57.3% a year +8,281% 55.7% a year +7,146% 53.5% a year
3 Bitcoin BTC · Crypto +12,204% 61.8% a year +11,254% 60.5% a year +8,779% 56.6% a year +7,902% 55.0% a year +6,818% 52.8% a year
4 AMD AMD · Stock +8,311% 55.8% a year +7,661% 54.5% a year +5,969% 50.8% a year +5,370% 49.2% a year +4,629% 47.1% a year
5 Tesla TSLA · Stock +2,803% 40.1% a year +2,579% 38.9% a year +1,995% 35.6% a year +1,788% 34.2% a year +1,532% 32.2% a year
6 Broadcom AVGO · Stock +2,023% 35.7% a year +1,859% 34.7% a year +1,432% 31.4% a year +1,281% 30.0% a year +1,094% 28.1% a year
7 Litecoin LTC · Crypto +1,535% 32.2% a year +1,409% 31.2% a year +1,080% 28.0% a year +964% 26.7% a year +820% 24.8% a year
8 Eli Lilly LLY · Stock +1,497% 31.9% a year +1,374% 30.9% a year +1,052% 27.7% a year +939% 26.4% a year +798% 24.5% a year
9 Apple AAPL · Stock +1,086% 28.1% a year +994% 27.0% a year +756% 23.9% a year +671% 22.7% a year +567% 20.9% a year
10 Microsoft MSFT · Stock +793% 24.5% a year +724% 23.5% a year +544% 20.5% a year +481% 19.2% a year +402% 17.5% a year
11 Alphabet GOOG · Stock +787% 24.4% a year +718% 23.4% a year +540% 20.4% a year +477% 19.2% a year +399% 17.4% a year
12 Strategy MSTR · Stock +692% 23.0% a year +631% 22.0% a year +472% 19.0% a year +415% 17.8% a year +345% 16.1% a year
13 Amazon AMZN · Stock +565% 20.9% a year +513% 19.9% a year +380% 17.0% a year +332% 15.8% a year +274% 14.1% a year
14 Nasdaq-100 NDX · Index +543% 20.5% a year +494% 19.5% a year +364% 16.6% a year +318% 15.4% a year +262% 13.7% a year
15 QQQ Nasdaq-100 ETF · ETF +542% 20.4% a year +493% 19.5% a year +363% 16.6% a year +318% 15.4% a year +261% 13.7% a year
16 Costco COST · Stock +540% 20.4% a year +491% 19.4% a year +362% 16.5% a year +316% 15.3% a year +260% 13.7% a year
17 Netflix NFLX · Stock +463% 18.9% a year +420% 17.9% a year +306% 15.0% a year +266% 13.9% a year +217% 12.2% a year
18 Mastercard MA · Stock +450% 18.6% a year +408% 17.6% a year +297% 14.8% a year +258% 13.6% a year +210% 12.0% a year
19 Meta META · Stock +449% 18.6% a year +406% 17.6% a year +296% 14.8% a year +257% 13.6% a year +208% 11.9% a year
20 JPMorgan JPM · Stock +381% 17.0% a year +344% 16.1% a year +247% 13.2% a year +213% 12.1% a year +170% 10.5% a year
21 Walmart WMT · Stock +377% 16.9% a year +340% 16.0% a year +244% 13.2% a year +210% 12.0% a year +168% 10.4% a year
22 Visa V · Stock +367% 16.7% a year +331% 15.7% a year +237% 12.9% a year +204% 11.8% a year +163% 10.1% a year
23 Oracle ORCL · Stock +268% 13.9% a year +240% 13.0% a year +166% 10.3% a year +139% 9.1% a year +107% 7.5% a year
24 S&P 500 SPX · Index +267% 13.9% a year +239% 13.0% a year +165% 10.2% a year +139% 9.1% a year +107% 7.5% a year
25 SPY S&P 500 ETF · ETF +266% 13.9% a year +238% 13.0% a year +164% 10.2% a year +138% 9.1% a year +106% 7.5% a year
26 Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B · Stock +257% 13.6% a year +230% 12.7% a year +158% 9.9% a year +132% 8.8% a year +101% 7.2% a year
27 Gold XAU · Commodity +231% 12.7% a year +206% 11.8% a year +139% 9.1% a year +115% 8.0% a year +86.2% 6.4% a year
28 GLD Gold ETF · ETF +215% 12.2% a year +191% 11.3% a year +128% 8.6% a year +105% 7.4% a year +77.3% 5.9% a year
29 Intel INTC · Stock +200% 11.6% a year +177% 10.7% a year +117% 8.0% a year +95.3% 6.9% a year +68.8% 5.4% a year
30 Dow Jones DJI · Index +185% 11.0% a year +163% 10.1% a year +105% 7.5% a year +85.2% 6.4% a year +60.1% 4.8% a year
31 UnitedHealth UNH · Stock +168% 10.4% a year +148% 9.5% a year +93.7% 6.8% a year +74.5% 5.7% a year +50.9% 4.2% a year
32 Johnson & Johnson JNJ · Stock +125% 8.5% a year +108% 7.6% a year +62.7% 5.0% a year +46.6% 3.9% a year +26.7% 2.4% a year
33 Coca-Cola KO · Stock +108% 7.6% a year +91.6% 6.7% a year +49.9% 4.1% a year +35.0% 3.1% a year +16.8% 1.6% a year
34 ExxonMobil XOM · Stock +103% 7.3% a year +87.1% 6.5% a year +46.3% 3.9% a year +31.9% 2.8% a year +14.0% 1.3% a year
35 US house prices FHFA HPI · Benchmark +94.1% 6.9% a year +91.2% 6.7% a year +39.9% 3.4% a year +34.6% 3.0% a year +7.9% 0.8% a year
36 Oil WTI · Commodity +86.8% 6.5% a year +72.4% 5.6% a year +34.8% 3.0% a year +21.5% 2.0% a year +5.1% 0.5% a year
37 Procter & Gamble PG · Stock +74.2% 5.7% a year +60.8% 4.9% a year +25.7% 2.3% a year +13.3% 1.3% a year −2.0% −0.2% a year
38 FTSE 100 UKX · Index +65.6% 5.2% a year +52.8% 4.3% a year +19.5% 1.8% a year +7.7% 0.7% a year −6.9% −0.7% a year
39 UK house prices UK HPI · Benchmark +39.6% 3.4% a year +37.6% 3.2% a year +0.6% 0.1% a year −3.2% −0.3% a year −22.4% −2.5% a year
40 US cash (3-month T-bills) T-bill · Benchmark +27.5% 2.5% a year +25.1% 2.3% a year −8.1% −0.8% a year −11.9% −1.3% a year −28.7% −3.3% a year
41 UK cash (Bank Rate) Bank Rate · Benchmark +24.9% 2.2% a year +22.5% 2.1% a year −10.0% −1.0% a year −13.7% −1.5% a year −30.2% −3.5% a year
42 TLT Long Treasury ETF · ETF −40.6% −5.1% a year −45.2% −5.8% a year −57.1% −8.1% a year −61.4% −9.1% a year −66.6% −10.4% a year

How the ranking is worked out

Sources, windows and what is left out
  • Month-end closes from Nasdaq and Yahoo Finance for shares, funds and indices; Binance, Kraken and CoinGecko for crypto; World Bank and US EIA monthly averages for gold and oil.
  • “10 years” runs from the close 120 months before each asset’s latest month. “Since 2010” starts at the December 2009 close. The current month uses the latest close, not a month-end.
  • Real figures divide by US CPI (BLS, via FRED) or UK CPI (ONS, joined to the long-run RPI before 1988). The M2 lens divides by the US M2 money supply (Federal Reserve, via FRED). Pounds convert at each month’s GBP/USD rate.
  • The US did not publish CPI for October 2025, so a real-dollar window that starts or ends in that month has no figure.
  • Price returns only: dividends are not included, which understates shares, funds and indices that pay them.

Perceived return vs real return

The same holding over the same months, measured five ways. Only the price line appears on a normal chart.

A price chart of the S&P 500 shows it up 601% from the December 2009 close to Oct 2026. That is the perceived return. Over the same months US consumer prices rose 55.1%, so each dollar at the end bought less than a dollar at the start. Restated in today’s money, the index is up 352%.

Put another way, 41.5% of the gain on the chart went on keeping up with prices. The real figure is still a large rise, but it is the one that measures what the holding can buy. A UK investor saw a different number: up 756% in pounds, because the pound fell against the dollar, and up 424% after UK inflation of 63.2%.

The money-printing lens asks a stricter question. The US M2 money supply grew 174% over the same stretch, faster than consumer prices, and the S&P 500 is up 155% against it. Assets that rose less than M2 kept their price but lost their share of all the money in circulation.

S&P 500, Dec 2009 to Oct 2026
Price, in dollars +601%
After US inflation +352%
Against US M2 +155%
Price, in pounds +756%
After UK inflation +424%

Price returns, dividends excluded. Bars share one scale.

The lenses

Five ways to measure a return

$ nominal
The price change in US dollars, as a price chart shows it. Nothing is adjusted.
£ nominal
The same holding valued in pounds at each month-end exchange rate. A dollar asset gains when the pound falls.
Real $ (US CPI) US prices +55.1% since 2010
Dollar returns after US consumer price inflation (CPI-U, from the BLS). This is the site’s default view.
Real £ (UK CPI) UK prices +63.2% since 2010
Pound returns after UK CPI from the ONS. Before 1988 we use the ONS long-run RPI, which ran higher.
vs US M2 M2 +174% since 2010
Dollar returns divided by the growth of the US M2 money supply. Positive means the asset outgrew the stock of money.

Shares: real returns by company

27 shares. 25 of 25 with 10 years of history beat US inflation over that time; the rest listed too recently. Since 2010, 21 of 23 grew faster than the US money supply.

Shares: real returns by company. Each figure is the total change, with the yearly rate under it for windows of a year or more.
Asset 10 yrs, real $10 yrs, real £Since 2010, real $Since 2010, vs M2
NVIDIA NVDA · from Jan 1999 +9,200% 57.3% a year +8,281% 55.7% a year +31,551% 40.8% a year +17,800% 36.1% a year
AMD AMD · from Jan 1985 +5,969% 50.8% a year +5,370% 49.2% a year +3,950% 24.6% a year +2,190% 20.4% a year
Tesla TSLA · from Jun 2010 +1,995% 35.6% a year +1,788% 34.2% a year –a (see note a) –a (see note a)
Broadcom AVGO · from Aug 2009 +1,432% 31.4% a year +1,281% 30.0% a year +12,643% 33.4% a year +7,107% 28.9% a year
Eli Lilly LLY · from Jan 1985 +1,052% 27.7% a year +939% 26.4% a year +2,029% 19.9% a year +1,104% 15.9% a year
Apple AAPL · from Jan 1985 +756% 23.9% a year +671% 22.7% a year +2,784% 22.1% a year +1,531% 18.0% a year
Microsoft MSFT · from Mar 1986 +544% 20.5% a year +481% 19.2% a year +1,032% 15.5% a year +540% 11.7% a year
Alphabet GOOG · from Aug 2004 +540% 20.4% a year +477% 19.2% a year +1,352% 17.2% a year +721% 13.3% a year
Strategy MSTR · from Jun 1998 +472% 19.0% a year +415% 17.8% a year +958% 15.0% a year +499% 11.2% a year
Amazon AMZN · from May 1997 +380% 17.0% a year +332% 15.8% a year +2,415% 21.1% a year +1,323% 17.1% a year
Costco COST · from Jul 1986 +362% 16.5% a year +316% 15.3% a year +932% 14.9% a year +483% 11.0% a year
Netflix NFLX · from May 2002 +306% 15.0% a year +266% 13.9% a year +5,659% 27.2% a year +3,157% 23.0% a year
Mastercard MA · from May 2006 +297% 14.8% a year +258% 13.6% a year +1,384% 17.4% a year +739% 13.5% a year
Meta META · from May 2012 +296% 14.8% a year +257% 13.6% a year –a (see note a) –a (see note a)
JPMorgan JPM · from Jan 1985 +247% 13.2% a year +213% 12.1% a year +415% 10.2% a year +191% 6.6% a year
Walmart WMT · from Aug 1972 +244% 13.2% a year +210% 12.0% a year +303% 8.6% a year +128% 5.0% a year
Visa V · from Mar 2008 +237% 12.9% a year +204% 11.8% a year +1,036% 15.5% a year +543% 11.7% a year
Oracle ORCL · from Mar 1986 +166% 10.3% a year +139% 9.1% a year +272% 8.1% a year +110% 4.5% a year
Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B · from May 1996 +158% 9.9% a year +132% 8.8% a year +406% 10.1% a year +186% 6.4% a year
Intel INTC · from Jan 1985 +117% 8.0% a year +95.3% 6.9% a year +231% 7.4% a year +87.1% 3.8% a year
UnitedHealth UNH · from Jan 1985 +93.7% 6.8% a year +74.5% 5.7% a year +702% 13.2% a year +354% 9.4% a year
Johnson & Johnson JNJ · from Jan 1985 +62.7% 5.0% a year +46.6% 3.9% a year +162% 5.9% a year +48.0% 2.4% a year
Coca-Cola KO · from Jan 1985 +49.9% 4.1% a year +35.0% 3.1% a year +99.2% 4.2% a year +12.6% 0.7% a year
ExxonMobil XOM · from Jan 1985 +46.3% 3.9% a year +31.9% 2.8% a year +59.7% 2.8% a year −9.7% −0.6% a year
Procter & Gamble PG · from Jan 1985 +25.7% 2.3% a year +13.3% 1.3% a year +60.8% 2.9% a year −9.1% −0.6% a year
Coinbase COIN · from Apr 2021 –a (see note a) –a (see note a) –a (see note a) –a (see note a)
Palantir PLTR · from Sep 2020 –a (see note a) –a (see note a) –a (see note a) –a (see note a)
  • a History is shorter than the period; the first month is under the name.

ETFs: real returns by fund

5 funds. 3 of 4 with 10 years of history beat US inflation over that time; the rest listed too recently. Since 2010, 3 of 4 grew faster than the US money supply.

ETFs: real returns by fund. Each figure is the total change, with the yearly rate under it for windows of a year or more.
Asset 10 yrs, real $10 yrs, real £Since 2010, real $Since 2010, vs M2
QQQ Nasdaq-100 ETF · from Mar 1999 +363% 16.6% a year +318% 15.4% a year +959% 15.0% a year +499% 11.2% a year
SPY S&P 500 ETF · from Jan 1993 +164% 10.2% a year +138% 9.1% a year +350% 9.4% a year +155% 5.7% a year
GLD Gold ETF · from Nov 2004 +128% 8.6% a year +105% 7.4% a year +131% 5.1% a year +30.7% 1.6% a year
TLT Long Treasury ETF · from Jul 2002 −57.1% −8.1% a year −61.4% −9.1% a year −44.1% −3.4% a year −68.4% −6.6% a year
IBIT Bitcoin ETF · from Jan 2024 –a (see note a) –a (see note a) –a (see note a) –a (see note a)
  • a History is shorter than the period; the first month is under the name.

Stock market indices after inflation

4 indices. 4 of 4 with 10 years of history beat US inflation over that time. Since 2010, 3 of 4 grew faster than the US money supply.

Stock market indices after inflation. Each figure is the total change, with the yearly rate under it for windows of a year or more.
Asset 10 yrs, real $10 yrs, real £Since 2010, real $Since 2010, vs M2
Nasdaq-100 NDX · from Oct 1985 +364% 16.6% a year +318% 15.4% a year +970% 15.1% a year +505% 11.3% a year
S&P 500 SPX · from Jan 1985 +165% 10.2% a year +139% 9.1% a year +352% 9.4% a year +155% 5.7% a year
Dow Jones DJI · from Jan 1992 +105% 7.5% a year +85.2% 6.4% a year +219% 7.1% a year +80.6% 3.6% a year
FTSE 100 UKX · from Jan 1985 +19.5% 1.8% a year +7.7% 0.7% a year +3.6% 0.2% a year −41.4% −3.1% a year

Gold and oil after inflation

2 commodities. 2 of 2 with 10 years of history beat US inflation over that time. Since 2010, 1 of 2 grew faster than the US money supply.

Gold and oil after inflation. Each figure is the total change, with the yearly rate under it for windows of a year or more.
Asset 10 yrs, real $10 yrs, real £Since 2010, real $Since 2010, vs M2
Gold XAU · from Jan 1960 +139% 9.1% a year +115% 8.0% a year +138% 5.3% a year +34.8% 1.8% a year
Oil WTI · from Jan 1986 +34.8% 3.0% a year +21.5% 2.0% a year −19.5% −1.3% a year −54.5% −4.6% a year

Crypto: real returns since each coin’s first month

56 coins, each from its first month in our data, so the start dates differ. 6 of 33 with five years of history are up after US inflation over that time. Ethereum has the largest real gain since its first month: +153,229% (from Aug 2015).

Crypto: real returns since each coin’s first month. Each figure is the total change, with the yearly rate under it for windows of a year or more.
Coin Since first month, $Since first month, real $Since first month, real £Since first month, vs M25 yrs, real $
Akash Network AKT · from Feb 2022 −41.7% −50.7% −52.4% −45.8% –a (see note a)
Algorand ALGO · from Jun 2019 −91.1% −93.2% −93.6% −94.4% −94.2%
Aptos APT · from Oct 2022 −89.0% −90.2% −91.6% −89.9% –a (see note a)
Arbitrum ARB · from Mar 2023 −86.1% −87.5% −88.3% −87.5% –a (see note a)
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance FET · from Feb 2019 −35.3% −51.2% −51.7% −59.8% −75.7%
Avalanche AVAX · from Sep 2020 +153% +96.6% +87.7% +102% −86.0%
Axie Infinity AXS · from Nov 2020 +170% +109% +106% +119% −99.3%
Beam BEAM · from Apr 2024 −90.3% −91.0% −91.5% −91.3% –a (see note a)
Bitcoin BTC · from Oct 2013 +40,812% +28,424% +34,180% +19,160% +12.3%
Bittensor TAO · from Apr 2024 −25.3% −30.1% −34.4% −33.0% –a (see note a)
BNB BNB · from Nov 2017 +38,319% +28,191% +28,460% +22,694% +17.9%
Brett BRETT · from Oct 2025 −78.4% –b (see note b) −79.1% −79.4% –a (see note a)
Cardano ADA · from Apr 2018 −26.8% −45.2% −44.2% −56.0% −89.5%
Centrifuge CFG · from May 2022 −38.6% −46.4% −50.8% −42.9% –a (see note a)
Chainlink LINK · from Jan 2019 +3,371% +2,508% +2,450% +2,050% −63.4%
Conflux CFX · from Mar 2021 −94.4% −95.6% −95.6% −95.3% −83.7%
Decentraland MANA · from Aug 2020 −2.1% −24.0% −25.2% −22.8% −97.2%
Dogecoin DOGE · from Jul 2019 +2,941% +2,229% +2,010% +1,839% −74.4%
dYdX DYDX · from Sep 2021 −99.4% −99.5% −99.5% −99.5% −99.2%
Epic Cash EPIC · from Oct 2025 +327% –b (see note b) +312% +307% –a (see note a)
Ethereum ETH · from Aug 2015 +215,421% +153,229% +174,652% +111,711% −51.0%
GALA GALA · from Sep 2021 −97.6% −98.1% −98.1% −97.9% −97.9%
GMX GMX · from Oct 2022 −80.6% −82.7% −85.1% −82.1% –a (see note a)
Hedera HBAR · from Sep 2019 +145% +87.9% +72.3% +58.1% −81.2%
Hyperliquid HYPE · from Jan 2026 +150% +142% +152% +140% –a (see note a)
Injective INJ · from Oct 2020 +909% +684% +649% +711% −39.8%
JasmyCoin JASMY · from Nov 2021 −97.0% −97.5% −97.6% −97.2% –a (see note a)
Litecoin LTC · from Oct 2013 +2,053% +1,401% +1,704% +914% −72.2%
Maple Finance SYRUP · from Nov 2024 +10.1% +3.7% −0.6% +1.2% –a (see note a)
Monero XMR · from Jan 2017 +4,358% +3,132% +2,894% +2,444% +71.4%
NEAR Protocol NEAR · from Oct 2020 +790% +592% +561% +615% −53.8%
Oasis Network ROSE · from Nov 2020 −76.5% −81.8% −82.1% −80.9% −96.1%
Ocean Protocol OCEAN · from Mar 2021 −89.8% −92.0% −91.9% −91.4% −85.0%
Ondo ONDO · from Apr 2024 −40.1% −43.9% −47.3% −46.2% –a (see note a)
Pepe PEPE · from May 2023 +233% +202% +185% +197% –a (see note a)
Polkadot DOT · from Aug 2020 −80.0% −84.4% −84.7% −84.2% −97.6%
Polygon POL · from Dec 2023 −89.7% −90.6% −90.9% −90.9% –a (see note a)
Popcat POPCAT · from Sep 2024 −95.2% −95.4% −95.4% −95.6% –a (see note a)
Ravencoin RVN · from Sep 2019 −94.4% −95.7% −96.1% −96.4% −98.8%
Render RENDER · from Jul 2024 −63.7% −65.9% −67.2% −67.2% –a (see note a)
Secret SCRT · from Apr 2022 −99.8% −99.8% −99.9% −99.8% –a (see note a)
Sei SEI · from Aug 2023 −48.0% −52.3% −54.5% −53.7% –a (see note a)
Shiba Inu SHIB · from May 2021 −41.5% −53.0% −51.6% −48.7% −93.3%
Sky (formerly Maker) SKY · from Oct 2024 +52.2% +43.4% +39.0% +39.1% –a (see note a)
Solana SOL · from Apr 2020 +15,942% +12,179% +11,442% +11,627% −54.8%
Stellar XLM · from Jan 2017 +9,074% +6,550% +6,060% +5,134% −55.7%
Sui SUI · from May 2023 +12.9% +2.5% −3.3% +0.7% –a (see note a)
SuperVerse SUPER · from Mar 2021 −93.8% −95.1% −95.1% −94.7% −81.9%
Synthetix SNX · from Jul 2020 −93.8% −95.2% −95.3% −95.1% −98.0%
The Graph GRT · from Dec 2020 −92.3% −94.0% −93.9% −93.7% −97.9%
The Sandbox SAND · from Aug 2020 −9.9% −30.1% −31.1% −28.9% −96.7%
Toshi TOSHI · from Feb 2025 −78.5% −79.5% −80.6% −80.1% –a (see note a)
TRON TRX · from Jun 2018 +783% +565% +549% +435% +170%
Worldcoin WLD · from Jul 2023 −76.8% −78.8% −79.4% −79.3% –a (see note a)
XRP XRP · from May 2017 +460% +309% +293% +226% +3.6%
Zcash ZEC · from Nov 2016 +1,825% +1,287% +1,182% +990% +540%
  • a History is shorter than the period; the first month is under the name.
  • b US CPI was not published for Oct 2025.

Benchmarks: houses, cash and gold

The yardsticks most savers measure against, worked out the same way. House prices exclude rent and costs; cash earns the full policy rate before tax.

All benchmarks
House prices, cash and gold after inflation. Each figure is the total change, with the yearly rate under it for windows of a year or more.
Benchmark 10 yrs, real $10 yrs, real £Since 2010, real £Since 2010, vs M2
UK house prices UK HPI · from Apr 1968 +0.6% 0.1% a year −3.2% −0.3% a year +8.4% 0.5% a year −46.2% −3.7% a year
US house prices FHFA HPI · from Jan 1991 +39.9% 3.4% a year +34.6% 3.0% a year +77.3% 3.5% a year −12.1% −0.8% a year
UK cash (Bank Rate) Bank Rate · from Jan 1975 −10.0% −1.0% a year −13.7% −1.5% a year −22.4% −1.5% a year −62.1% −5.6% a year
US cash (3-month T-bills) T-bill · from Jan 1934 −8.1% −0.8% a year −11.9% −1.3% a year −4.2% −0.3% a year −53.2% −4.4% a year
Gold XAU · from Jan 1960 +139% 9.1% a year +115% 8.0% a year +177% 6.2% a year +34.8% 1.8% a year
FAQ

Real return questions

Answers are worked out from the same monthly data as the tables and change when it refreshes. Educational information, not financial advice.

What is a real return?

A real return is the change in what an investment can buy, not in its price. We take the price change and divide out the rise in consumer prices over the same months, using US CPI for dollars and UK CPI for pounds. The S&P 500 shows why it matters: it is up 601% in dollars from the December 2009 close to October 2026, but up 352% once US inflation is taken out.

How many assets beat inflation over the last 10 years?

Of the 38 assets with at least 10 years of monthly history, 37 returned more than US inflation over the 10 years to their latest month, and 1 did not. The middle one returned +271% after inflation. Against the growth of the US M2 money supply the bar is higher: 35 of 38 cleared it. These are price returns. For shares, funds and indices, dividends are not included.

What does "against money printing" mean?

M2 counts the cash, current accounts, savings deposits and money market funds held in the US. When it grows faster than the economy, more dollars chase the same assets. Since 2010 it has grown 174%. An asset that rose less than that has lost ground against the money supply even if its price went up. The "vs M2" column divides each price by M2, so a positive figure means the asset grew faster than the stock of money.

Why are there pound and dollar figures?

Most of what we track is priced in dollars, but many readers count their money in pounds. A dollar asset held by a UK investor gains or loses as the pound moves, and UK inflation has not matched US inflation. So each row shows the return in dollars and in pounds, before and after each country’s inflation. The pound figures convert at each month-end GBP/USD rate.

How do house prices and cash compare?

They sit in the table as benchmarks. Since 2010, the average UK house is up 8.4% after UK inflation, and cash earning the full Bank Rate is down 22.4%. House prices exclude rent and running costs, and Bank Rate is higher than most easy-access accounts paid, so both flatter what a typical owner or saver got. The benchmark pages show the full history.

Important information

Capital at risk. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Educational information only, not financial advice. Read our disclaimer.

Comparisons

Compare assets side by side

Related pages

Inflation and money supply data