Although recent volatility and inflation angst have produced negative nominal and real returns for the FT Wilshire 5000 over the last 12 months, it is worth remembering that equities are a long duration asset class and returns should be viewed via the prism of long-time horizons.
The chart and table below show the progression of FT Wilshire returns over the last 20 years. Real annualized returns have exceeded 7% over the five-,10- and 20-year periods.
Exhibit 1: The aggregate and annualized nominal and real total returns for the FT Wilshire 5000
The nominal return profile of the FT Wilshire 5000 style indices
In Exhibit 2, over a 20-year period small cap's annualized returns of 10.8% have exceeded the 9.8% delivered from large cap. However, small cap's annualized returns have lagged large cap returns over three-, five- and 10-year time frames.
15585177 E1122
