Subject: 37-yr fund returns
I just updated a spreadsheet that I keep of the returns of mutual funds. It tracks the returns of 21 funds over a period of 29 to 37 years. Most of the funds are value funds, plus a number of growth funds and a few index funds. A plot of annualized returns for 1 to 37 year periods, ending in 2022, looks like a trumpet, with a wide range of 1-year returns and a very small range of 37-year returns. Here are some data. I included the return of BRK-A, but it is not included in the range. The returns are after fees, which average 1.0%.

Number of years included, S&P 500, low fund, high fund, range, BRK-A

1, -18.1%, -30.5%, 17.4%, 47.9 points, 3.3%
3, 7.7, -6.6, 26.0, 32.6, 12.0
5, 9.4, 3.5, 12.4, 8.9, 9.9
7, 11.5, 3.6, 11.8, 14.4, 13.4
10, 12.5, 5.4, 12.4, 7.0, 13.5
15, 8.8, 2.0, 9.1, 7.1, 9.5
20, 7.8, 4.4, 11.4, 7.0, 9.8
25, 7.6, 5.3, 10.0, 4.7, 9.8
30, 9.6, 8.2, 11.7, 3.5, 11.7
35, 10.5, 9.5, 12.1, 2.6, 14.2
37, 10.6, 9.1, 11.9, 2.8, 15.2

As you can see, the range of returns trumpets down from a 48 point range at 1 year to a 5 point range at 25 years and a 3 point range at 35 years. Of the value funds the best performing fund over 37 years is the Dodge & Cox Stock Fund (DODGX) at 11.7% versus 10.6% for the S&P. The highest of all 21 funds is Alger Spectra A (SPECX), with a 37-year return of 11.9%.