Small Investors’ Holdings Tripled in ‘80s: The...

Small Investors’ Holdings Tripled in ‘80s: The investment portfolio of the average small investor tripled in the 1980s, according to an index compiled by Money magazine. The magazine said its Small Investor Index grew 200.5% during the decade. At that rate, holdings worth $14,791 on Dec. 31, 1979, grew by the end of 1989 to $44,439. The gain for the decade was equivalent to an 11.6% annual return, compared with 6% for the 1970s, Money said. After inflation, which averaged 5.1% a year in the 1980s, investors saw real annual profits of 6.5%. During the 1970s, they actually lost 1.3% a year after inflation, the magazine says.