Performance
Since the end of 2017, that is over 8 years (20 February 2026), the performance of our portfolio (all types of stocks – gold mines and retirement savings) has been 402%, including dividends. Over the same period, the CAC increased by 52% and 70% when including dividends. More representative of the actual performance of individuals, the average portfolio increased by only 20% over the last 7 years (average annual return 2.7%, source: OEE Savings Observatory).
Indeed, the average annual performance of household financial savings was 2.9% per year from 2013 to 2025. The stock component (as opposed to bonds and short-term instruments) of those savings (around 20% of the total and therefore 80% for fixed-income products) grew by about 5% per year, or a cumulative 50%, well below the performance of the CAC over the same period. The OEE study, the European savings observatory, can be consulted at the following link. The average long-term performance of an American investor can be consulted here.
This quite significant outperformance of our portfolio was achieved by investing at the end of 2017 an amount of nearly 30% of its total value (gold mines + retirement savings) in gold mines. My statistical models at the time suggested an investment in this sector, which was significantly undervalued. This well-considered bet proved to be incredibly right.
At the end of 2017, our portfolio could be divided into 2 parts: the Gold mines component and the retirement savings component.
1) our investment in gold mines amounted to 109,000 euros at the end of December 2017 following purchases made in November and December 2017. Due to the rise in prices (see below), its current value (20 February 20, 2026) was 904,581 €, including the substantial dividends received over the past 8 years, representing an increase of 729%. The CAC benchmark over the same period was 70%, about 10 times less.
Update : As of 24 april 2026, the total stands at 862 567 € that is a fall of 4.5% since 20 february. 2026.
2) a group formed by our Company Savings Plan and Retirement Savings Plan (more particularly exposed to European banking stocks, whose value increased from €88K at the end of 2017 to €215K in April 2024). Again, a performance superior to the CAC. This group was and remains more particularly exposed to European banking stocks
Further evidence of the success of our analytical methods, that is beyond gold and gold mining shares, can be found at the following link.
Now let's look at what the AI, ChatGpt 4 in this case, says about choosing a wealth manager.
Choosing a wealth manager is a crucial decision for any investor. One of the most important factors to consider when choosing a manager is their past performance. Past performance serves as an indicator of a manager's ability to generate returns for its investors. A manager who has a proven track record of consistently beating the market and generating positive returns is more likely to continue to do so in the future. In addition, past performance may also indicate a manager's risk management skills, as well as their overall investment philosophy and strategy. However, it is important to note that past performance is not always indicative of future results. A manager may have had a strong track record in the past, but that doesn't guarantee that they will continue to be successful in the future.
Despite this, past performance should still be considered an important factor when selecting a manager. Finally, it is important to compare the manager's performance to that of his peers, as well as to that of benchmarks such as the S&P 500 or the CAC40.