If you bought and held a mutual fund or ETF, what return should you earn—and why do some investors earn less? In this episode, we unpack the fascinating findings from Morningstar’s Mind the Gap study and explore the difference between total returns and actual investor returns. You’ll learn what the “investor return gap” is, why it exists, and how timing decisions, emotional reactions, and behavioral biases quietly erode performance over time.
Listen in as we break down the real cost of fear of missing out, panic selling, and chasing trends and why understanding your own psychology may matter more than picking the “right” fund. We also discuss what thoughtful investing actually looks like in practice. By the end of this conversation, you’ll understand how to close the return gap and make decisions that support long-term success instead of short-term emotion.
What You’ll Learn In Today’s Episode:
- What the investor return gap is.
- Total return vs. investor return explained.
- Why timing hurts performance.
- The cost of behavioral biases.
- How FOMO impacts investing.
- Why buy-and-hold often wins.
- What the Mind the Gap study reveals.
- How emotional decisions reduce returns.
- How to set realistic return expectations.
- How to invest with discipline.
Ideas Worth Sharing:
- “There is a major cost to not knowing or understanding your behavioral biases.” – Charlie Mattingly
- “We all have biases in life that serve us well; however, in the stock market, sometimes they don’t.” – Charlie Mattingly
- “When it comes to investing, you have to be thoughtful about what is important to you, what your plan is and what you need to be successful.” – Charlie Mattingly
Resources In Today’s Episode:
Share The Love:
If you like The Pilot Money Guys podcast …
Never miss an episode by subscribing via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or by RSS!
