@HalvarFlake Because it's all denominated in inflationary fiat. The yardstick isn't something else denominated in fiat, it's the monetary expansion rate. If the broker, index, etc. isn't beating the monetary inflation rate, you're still losing value. Very few fiat-denominated investments do. Average for the past 3 years was something like 18%. Are your fiat-denominated investments returning North of 18%?