There is a hidden fee eating away at your investment returns every year.

Don’t start pointing fingers. This isn’t about management fees or taxes or even the inflation boogie man.

This is about YOU! (And me). Ok, it’s all of us.

For over 30 years, a firm named DALBAR has published a study analyzing how actual investors perform relative to the market itself. The results are brutal.

Year after year, the average stock fund investor underperforms the S&P 500 index (the U.S. stock market) by often more than 2% annually. They call this the “Behavior Gap.” That’s being gentle.

Our instincts, useful for survival, are a disaster for investing. We’re hardwired to chase the herd and run from danger.

We get euphoric when markets are hot (buying high) and consumed by panic when they tumble (selling low). We systematically buy excitement and sell fear, a strategy guaranteed to destroy wealth.

That 2% gap isn’t just a number; over an investing lifetime, it’s a monumental difference.

And over some time periods the numbers are even more dramatic:

The U.S. stock market (S&P500 Index) has returned about 10% per year for the past 40 years.

If you invested $500/month for the last 40 years earning 10% per year, by now you’d have around $3.16 Million.

BUT if you invested $750/month for the last 40 years earning 8%/year, but now you’d have $2.62 Million.

So even if you’re contributing 50% more, you’re still falling short.

Are you shocked? In disbelief? This is math, pal. Read a calculator, or whatever.

We can fix this. We can be better.

It doesn’t take some secret system, complex series of hacks, or pyramid scheme course I’m going to sell you. Although…note to self.

Here are three simple things you can do to get back potentially… (channeling Dr. Evil) MILLIONS in lifetime investment value:

What are your goals? What is your timeline for those goals? How much money do you need for these goals? These are important things to know! It will keep you on track and focused. Instead of giving you a template (because we’re living in the future), here’s a prompt you can copy for ChatGPT (or your preferred LLM):

The simplest way to beat bad behavior is to remove it from the equation. Set up automatic monthly investments into your chosen funds. Put your wealth-building on autopilot and stop trying to time the market.

When people are freaking out because the stock market is falling, just remember that people make bad decisions when emotional. That’s opportunity! Investments get cheap when people are panicking. Besides, volatility is the price you pay for higher returns. Bask in it.

Go forth and multiply (your cash).

Being a good investor isn’t about being the smartest guy in the room. It’s mostly about having a cool head and sticking to your plan, especially when things get wild in the markets.

Remember in April when the stock market was down more than 15%? Now we’re back at all-time-highs.

So just sit tight and hit skip on those YouTube ad tries to sell you a course on day-trading stocks based fake chart patterns, or whatever witchcraft they’re pushing these days.