Did Your Retirement Account Do This in 2015?

[Mike D'Arrigo]

The DJIA closed at $17,833 on January 2, 2015. It closed the year out on December 31, 2015 at $17,425--down 2.2%. If you're IRA or 401K followed the performance of the DOW, you had no gain for the year. Furthermore, the average dividend yield of all DOW Jones stocks averaged only 2.87%. 2015 was a pretty dismal year for stocks. Although real estate returns have been compressed due to increasing prices in many markets, real estate is still producing 15-20% COC returns on cash flow alone. Factor in equity gain through mortgage pay down and price appreciation plus tax advantages of depreciation, real estate is still a great investment in my opinion.