Holding Cash vs Investing

When you choose not to invest your money, you could be missing out on significant returns over time. Give your money a chance to grow by putting it to work.

Use the tool below to compare historical returns of market benchmarks to not investing at all and see how $10,000 would've performed over time.

Investing vs. staying out of the market

Select market benchmarks

Market benchmarks are an unmanaged group of bonds or stocks whose overall performance is used as a standard to measure investment performance.

Select a benchmark
$10,000
Investment time frame
How much you would have earned investing*
as of XX/XX/XXXX

*How much more you would've earned if you'd invested in these market benchmarks vs. not investing at all.

The bottom line

Investing in the market can give you greater growth potential over time. You can help offset market risk through asset allocation. Use our asset allocation tool to find a portfolio that best fits you.

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Select market benchmarks

Market benchmarks are an unmanaged group of bonds or stocks whose overall performance is used as a standard to measure investment performance.

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Asset allocation

Asset allocation is they way you divide your portfolio among asset classes—stocks, bonds, and short-term or "cash" investments. It's the first thing you should consider when getting ready to purchase investments, because it has the biggest effect on the way you portfolio will act.

Learn about choosing your asset mix

S&P 500 Index

A widely used barometer of U.S. stock market performance. 

As a market-weighted index of leading companies in leading industries, it is dominated by large-capitalization companies.

Spliced Total Stock Market Index

A measure of U.S. stock market performance. 

Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index (formerly known as the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Index) through April 22, 2005; MSCI US Broad Market Index through June 2, 2013; and CRSP US Total Market Index thereafter.

Spliced Total International Stock Index

A measure of international stock market performance. 

Total International Composite Index through August 31, 2006; MSCI EAFE + Emerging Markets Index through December 15, 2010; MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI Index through June 2, 2013; and FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index thereafter. Benchmark returns are adjusted for withholding taxes.

Spliced Bloomberg US Aggregate Float Adjusted Bond Index

A measure of U.S. bond market performance. 

Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index through December 31, 2009; Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index thereafter.

US Government Money Market Funds Average

A measure of U.S. money market performance. 

Derived from data provided by Lipper, a Thomson Reuters Company.

Balanced Composite Index

A weighted measure of U.S. stock market performance (60%) and U.S. bond market performance (40%). 

Weighted 60% Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index (formerly known as the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Index) and 40% Lehman Brothers U.S. Aggregate Bond Index through May 31, 2005; 60% MSCI US Broad Market Index and 40% Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index through December 31, 2009; 60% MSCI US Broad Market Index and 40% Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index through January 14, 2013; and 60% CRSP US Total Market Index and 40% Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index thereafter.

Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. The performance of an index is not an exact representation of any particular investment, as you cannot invest directly in an index.

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All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.

Benchmark comparative indexes represent unmanaged or average returns on various financial assets, which can be compared with funds' total returns for the purpose of measuring relative performance.