Thanks to all that are contributing to the thread. I guess I'd like to make two quick points myself, because maybe I have either been understood, or I am misunderstanding (?):
1. My sharing of my own returns was not by way of bragging. I don't consider the returns at all exceptional, so my 'not too bad' comment meant literally that! And the comments regarding 'counting chickens prior to hatching' are on the mark, and clearly applicable. But c'mon, are we not going to take stock at year end? Maybe some are highly disciplined enough to ignore returns year to year, but I already self-confessed that is not me
2. However, I not only endorse the concept of buying and holding indexes, but I follow it as well; my own lagging against the returns that LOL! cites can be seen in one simple graph, below, where my own choice for a midcap fund (RPMGX) had a very weird drop at what looks like about two weeks ago, compared to the Vanguard-equivalent index LOL! cited that it usually tracks pretty close to (VIMSX).
I don't know what caused that loss with just a couple of biz days left in the year, but that is what caused my own overall underperformance. Still not complaining. FWIW, I had already decided to exchange RPMGX for the closest Vanguard equivalent I can get, VMGRX, due to lower fees ( 0.8% vs 0.4%) at rebalance time,
however, it looks like VMGRX had the exact same end of year dip, so it would not have helped me on this performance: