Investing Basics

Investing Basics is a data page on the Personal Finance desk of Glassbox Auditing. Returns on stocks, bonds, bills, homes and gold since 1928, the common index funds and ETFs compared on cost and return, what fees take over decades, and the IRS limits and tax rules for 401(k)s, IRAs and HSAs. It is the long record behind the daily market pages.

Last updated: 7 Nov 2026.

What is the latest reading?

S&P 500 annual return, dividends reinvested: 17.7% as of 2025, -26.1 pts since 1928. Source: Aswath Damodaran, Historical Returns on Stocks, Bonds and Bills (NYU Stern).

What is on this page today?

Lowest S&P 500 index fund fee of SPY, VOO and IVV: 0.03% a year (VOO, IVV) — $3 a year on every $10,000 held · SPY 0.09% (Yahoo Finance fund data, 7 Nov 2026)
U.S. stocks are 0.8% below their previous high in Sep 2026 — Stocks compounded at 10.4% a year against 3.3% for Treasury bills, and 10 of 10 falls of 20% or more were made back · Stocks lost money in 24% of calendar years and 5% of ten-year windows · the longest wait from a high… (Kenneth R. French Data Library, 31 Aug 2026)
The 2026 401(k) employee contribution limit is $24,500, $1,000 above 2025; the IRA limit is $7,500 — Roth IRA contributions phase out between $153,000 and $168,000 of income for single filers, $242,000 and $252,000 married filing jointly · 2025 limits: 401(k) $23,500, IRA $7,000 (IRS, 31 Dec 2025)
S&P 500 with dividends reinvested: 10.0% a year, 1928 to 2025 — 6.8% a year after inflation (Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern, 30 Dec 2025)

Where does the data come from?

Items on this page come from Yahoo Finance fund data; Kenneth R. French Data Library; IRS; Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern. Each item links to its own source. All sources, how items are checked.

What does this page lead to?

SPY History (Markets): Index funds hold the same S&P 500 that SPY tracks day to day; the long record shows how the short falls seen on SPY History compare with a century of yearly returns. (moves the same way; same day; economy scale) Source: Aswath Damodaran, Historical Returns on Stocks, Bonds and Bills (NYU Stern).
Valuation (Companies): Long-run stock returns come from earnings growth, dividends and changes in what investors pay per dollar of earnings, the P/E the Valuation page tracks company by company. (either way, depending on the cause; years; company scale) Source: Aswath Damodaran, Historical Returns on Stocks, Bonds and Bills (NYU Stern).

What feeds this page?

Taxes (Personal Finance): Capital gains rates and account limits shape after-tax returns, which is why tax-advantaged accounts and low-turnover index funds are compared on the investing page. (either way, depending on the cause; each tax year; economy scale) Source: IRS annual inflation adjustments (Rev. Proc. 2024-40 for 2025, Rev. Proc. 2025-32 for 2026).
Retirement (Personal Finance): How long savings last depends on the same stock and bond returns, fees and account rules laid out on Investing Basics. (moves the same way; years; economy scale) Source: Aswath Damodaran, Historical Returns on Stocks, Bonds and Bills (NYU Stern).