We have to meet very stringent standards when reporting performance. Since 2004 our performance numbers have been calculated by a third party, U.S. Bank. Prior to that they were calculated by State Street, our previous custodian, and the custodian transfer caused an interruption in the measurement of performance. We ARE permitted to give you the long-term performance of one client account—an actual fee-paying client account that is managed just like our other portfolios—for which we’ve saved every statement since 1998. It pays fees based on our fee schedule from the 1990s, which assessed a fee of 1% of the first $500,000 in assets. Those fees are reflected in the performance numbers presented below, and this “Benchmark Account” has not benefited from any additions since inception.

On December 31, 2022, the account was valued at $1,863,351.07, down from $1,922,182 at the beginning of the year and up from $217,974 on December 31, 1999, less than three months before the great millennial tech-stock bubble burst. The compound annual growth rate from December 31, 1999 to December 31, 2022 was 9.78%.

The account holds stocks, bonds, and cash, so we have provided returns for each category in the table below, which begins on December 31, 1998. The compound annual growth rate for the 24 years that stretched from December 31, 1998 to the last day of 2022 was 8.89%.

Dropping 1999 from the presentation would cause the account’s 23-year average return to jump, surprisingly, to 9.78%; while the Nasdaq average would drop to a shocking 5.18%. Please keep in mind that the Benchmark Account is primarily composed of stocks, bonds, and cash-equivalent investments. Its performance should be compared to a mixture of stock, bond, and cash indices.

Compound Annual Growth Rate 1999-2022

General Disclosures
Statements within this website are the opinions of Lumbard & Kellner, LLC and are not to be construed as guarantees, warranties or predictions of future events, portfolio allocations, portfolio results, investment returns, or other outcomes. None of the material contained in this website is intended as a solicitation or offer to purchase or sell a specific investment. Viewers of this website should not assume that all recommendations will be profitable or that future investment and/or portfolio performance will be profitable or favorable.

Performance Results
The performance results presented are for our “Benchmark Account.” For performance review purposes the benchmark account uses January 1, 1999 as its date of inception. The account pays fees based on Lumbard & Kellner, LLC’s fee schedule from the 1990s (top rate of 1%) and the performance presented is net of fees and expenses—which means that the performance numbers you see have been reduced by the collection of our fees. Otherwise, the Benchmark Account has not had any additions or withdrawals since inception. The performance results for the Benchmark Account include the reinvestment of dividends and other earnings.

The performance results for the Benchmark Account are calculated by Lumbard & Kellner, LLC’s custodian, U.S. Bank (prior to 2004 State Street was the custodian). Actual returns for individual client portfolios managed by Lumbard & Kellner, LLC may vary and will not necessarily coincide exactly with the returns for the “Benchmark Account.”

Past Performance Does Not Guarantee Future Performance

Past performance of the “Benchmark Account” does not guarantee future results. No assurances or guarantees can be given or implied concerning future investment results for Lumbard & Kellner, LLC or any investment index. Future returns may differ significantly from the past due to materially different economic and market conditions and other factors. Investments within portfolios, and therefore, portfolios, involve risk and the possibility of loss, including a permanent loss of principal.