Part 1 of 2: Amazing facts about the us and equity investing results

By Dian Vujovich

Every now and again The Motley Fools publishes a list of factoids that say oh-so much about us and the realities of the investing world.

I’ve divided their recently published list, written  by Morgan Housel,  titled “100 Startling Facts About the Economy” and published Feb.5,  into two parts. Part 1, listed below, looks at performance realities and oopsy investment advice.

Here, classified by topic, are some facts you might have forgotten, don’t believe or never ever knew:

•Performance Realities

1.As of January 2013, there are 16 people left in the world who were born in the 1800s, according to the Gerontology Research Group. With dividends reinvested, U.S. stocks have increased 28,000-fold during their lifetimes.

14. Including dividends, the S&P 500 gained 135% from March 2009 through January 2013, during what people remember as the “Great Recession.” It gained the exact same amount from 1996 to 2000, during what people remember as the “greatest bull market in history.”

27. According to Bloomberg, “The 50 stocks in the S&P 500 with the lowest analyst ratings at the end of 2011 posted an average return of 23 percent [in 2012], outperforming the index by 7 percentage points.”

43. Since 1928, the S&P 500 has closed at a new all-time high 1,024 times, or 4.8% of all trading days.

64. Renaissance Technologies, a hedge fund run by James Simons, has allegedly produced average returns of 80% a year since 1988 (before fees), according to Bloomberg. That would turn $1,000 into $2.4 billion in 25 years.

65. The S&P 500 has returned about 9% a year over the long run, but few years see returns even close to that. Since 1871, the index has risen or fallen more than 20% in one out of every three years. Less than one out of every five years sees a gain of between 1% and 9%.

68. Last year, Franklin Templeton asked 1,000 investors whether the S&P 500 went up or down in 2009 and 2010. Sixty-six percent thought it went down in 2009, while 48% said it declined in 2010. In reality, the index gained 26.5% in 2009 and 15.1% in 2010.

•STOCKS

68. Last year, Franklin Templeton asked 1,000 investors whether the S&P 500 went up or down in 2009 and 2010. Sixty-six percent thought it went down in 2009, while 48% said it declined in 2010. In reality, the index gained 26.5% in 2009 and 15.1% in 2010.

79. Related: 84% of actively managed U.S. stock funds underperformed the S&P 500 in 2011.

89. According to Vanguard founder John Bogle, the average equity mutual fund gained 173% from 1997 to 2011, but the average equity mutual fund investor earned only 110%, thanks to the tendency to buy high and sell low.

•STOCK SPECIFIC

18. Dell (NASDAQ: DELL ) “has spent more money on share repurchases than it earned throughout its life as a public company,” writes Floyd Norris of The New York Times.

23. Apple’s cash and investments are now equal to the GDP of Hungary and more than those of Vietnam and Iraq.

•ALL THINGS APPLE

45. One in seven crimes committed in New York City now involves an Apple product being stolen, according to NYPD records cited by ABC News.

46. In the first quarter of 2012, the number of iPhones Apple sold per day surpassed the number of babies born per day worldwide (402,000 vs. 300,000), according to Mobile First.

•OOPSY ADVICE

32. Fortune magazine published an article titled “10 Stocks To Last the Decade” in August, 2000. By December 2012, the portfolio had lost 74.3% of its value, according to analyst Barry Ritholtz.

62. According to BetterInvesting, the number of investment clubs has declined by 90% since 1998 from 400,000 to 39,000.

In Part 2,   we’ll look at factoids pertaining to income, education, jobs, bonds and interest rates.

Read the entire list of ‘100 Startling Facts About the Economy” at: http://tinyurl.com/bcbrw59 .