Not being critical at all, just clarifying it's 2016 data.
I modified that original post of mine, in case it was confusing that it was or wasn't 2016 data. I certainly don't think any one should expect returns like that all the time, or invest only in only in commodities :)
Though speaking of going back in time to 2008:
If you invested $10,000 in a balanced fund on January 1st 2008, you'd have $15,544 today.
If you invested $10,000 in a balanced fund on January 1st 2009, you'd have $23,753 today.
Obviously, I'd rather have the second return, but even the first isn't too shabby. I took those numbers from
here, which I think is a good illustration of how it all evens out in the end.
It's fun to talk about year end returns and how individual asset classes did, but in practice I have an asset allocation that I'm comfortable with and that more or less resembles the total stock market at least (with a slight small value tilt and extra REIT allocation), we just invest(ed) regularly as we have cash and hope the markets do their work.
I guess I have all the wrong international and emerging market funds... They're *down* 4%... Luckily I'm not too heavy in them...
Are your returns in USD or another currency?
If I'm reading correctly, the benchmarks for the data I posted are:
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund (VGTSX)
Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund (VEIEX)