Since 1998 we have tracked and shared the performance of an actual account managed by the firm that pays a fee based on the schedule in place in the 1990’s. The fee in place at that time assessed a fee of 1% of the first $500,000 of assets, .75% of the next $500,000, .6% of the next $1,000,000 and .5% of everything over $2,000,000. This fee differs from the standard fee schedule in place today for new account relationships. This account, at inception, was referred to as the “benchmark” account and for consistency has continued to be referenced by this name. The account should not be viewed as related performance of what other accounts should expect. The performance numbers have been calculated with information from a third-party custodian for the account (currently U.S. Bank – prior to 2004 information provided by State Street). The management fees and brokerage commissions are paid from within the account. There have been no additions of funds to the account, nor any withdrawals other than fees & commissions; domestic taxes related to the account are paid with funds from outside of the account.

On December 31, 2023, the account was valued at $2,048,275.72, up from $1,863,351.07 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, 2023, was 9.78%. 

The account holds stocks, bonds, and cash whose weighting has varied over time, 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 25 years that stretched from December 31, 1998, to the last day of 2023 was 8.93%.

Dropping 1999 from the presentation would cause the account’s 24-year average return to rise to 9.78%; while the Nasdaq average would drop to 6.59%. 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 (CAGR) 1999-2023

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 numbers have been calculated with information from a third-party custodian for the account (currently U.S. Bank – prior to 2004 information provided by State Street). 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.