Self-Directed Investing · Track Record

12 Years. No Advisor.
No Excuses.

One portfolio. Zero management fees. A disciplined process built on following the cash — and returns that speak for themselves.

May 2013 — February 2026 · Cumulative Time-Weighted Returns

0%
My Portfolio
3.7x the S&P 500
vs
0%
S&P 500 TR
vs
0%
Dow Jones TR

Growth of $100,000 — May 2013 to Today

Cumulative Time-Weighted Return (%)
My Portfolio
S&P 500 TR
Dow Jones TR

Year-by-Year Performance

Every year, fully transparent. Green years and red years — no cherry-picking.

YearMy ReturnMy CumulativeS&P 500S&P CumDJIADJIA Cum
2013+20.29%20.29%+15.35%15.35%+11.98%11.98%
2014+30.10%56.50%+13.69%31.14%+10.04%23.22%
2015+11.13%73.92%+1.38%32.95%+0.21%23.49%
2016+13.20%96.87%+11.96%48.85%+16.50%43.86%
2017+32.88%161.60%+21.83%81.35%+28.11%84.29%
2018−3.06%153.60%−4.38%73.40%−3.48%77.88%
2019+63.49%314.60%+31.49%127.99%+25.34%122.96%
2020+105.16%750.60%+18.40%169.94%+9.72%144.64%
2021+55.51%1,222.79%+28.71%247.43%+20.95%195.88%
2022−22.41%926.39%−18.11%184.51%−6.86%175.58%
2023+26.83%1,201.75%+26.29%259.30%+16.18%220.17%
2024+32.44%1,624.01%+25.02%349.19%+14.99%268.16%
2025 YTD−4.93%1,538.98%+17.88%429.50%+14.92%323.10%
Cumulative1,604.00%436.72%341.50%

How Many "S&P 500s" Is That?

My Portfolio
1,604%
3.7x
S&P 500 TR
437%
1.0x
Dow Jones TR
342%
0.8x

The 2% Fee You Don't See Coming

What a typical Wall Street advisor's annual management fee actually costs over 12 years on a $500K portfolio — even if they matched the S&P 500.

With 2% Advisor Fee
S&P 500 return minus 2%/yr compounded drag
$2,234K
$500K → $2.23M after fees
Self-Directed (No Fees)
Same S&P 500 return, zero advisory fees
$2,684K
$500K → $2.68M keeping it all

On a $500K portfolio matching the S&P, a 2% annual fee costs you roughly $450K+ over 12 years. That's not a fee — that's a second portfolio you handed to someone else. Now imagine paying those fees for returns 3.7x worse than yours.


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Past performance does not guarantee future results. All returns shown are time-weighted cumulative returns from a personal brokerage account, May 8, 2013 – February 3, 2026. Benchmark returns are total return indices including dividends. This is educational content shared within the Occam's Investing community. It is not investment advice, a solicitation, or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Always do your own research. See our full investment disclaimer.