Few Assets Beat True Inflation Rate (Patreon)

The main takeaway from the chart seems to be that only a few asset classes have outperformed what is labeled as the "Actual Inflation" rate, suggesting that most asset classes failed to generate returns that exceeded the true cost of living increase over the 20-year period.

This chart is a bar graph representing the 20-year annualized returns by asset class from the years 2001 to 2020. The chart compares the returns of different asset classes with two measures of inflation.

Asset Classes: These are the different types of investments whose returns are being compared. They include REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts), EM Equity (Emerging Market Equity), Small Cap (small market capitalization stocks), High Yield (high-yield bonds), S&P 500 (an index of 500 large-cap US stocks), 60/40 (a traditional investment portfolio consisting of 60% stocks and 40% bonds), DM Equity (Developed Market Equity), Bonds, Homes (real estate), Average Investor (the typical returns an average investor might achieve), Inflation, Cash, and Commodity.

• 20-Year Annualized Return: This is the average return an investment has generated each year over a 20-year period. For instance, REITs have an annualized return of 9.8%, which means that on average, REITs have returned 9.8% per year over the 20 years from 2001 to 2020.
• Actual Inflation: This is represented by the yellow horizontal line that spans across the chart. It indicates the average actual inflation rate over the same 20-year period.
• CPI (Consumer Price Index) Inflation: This is another measure of inflation, typically based on a basket of goods and services. The chart labels this as "Fake" inflation, which suggests that the creator of the chart believes this measure does not accurately represent the true inflation experienced over the period. It is represented by the orange horizontal line.