It gets even worse if you factor in inflation. $100 five years ago may have been able to buy $100 worth of goods to fill your shopping cart. Five years later (today) because of inflation that $100 bill may only be able to purchase goods to fill up three-fifths of your shopping cart. However you no longer have $100 you have $70 because that is the value of your stock. That $70 of stock converted to cash may only fill two fifths of your shopping cart so you will require a return of much more than 42 per cent over the next two years in order to be able to have the same level of purchasing power over the seven year wait and be able to sell the stock at a price that allows you to be able to fill up your shopping cart. The point to all this is to understand how to construct a portfolio in relation to your goals. Do not just lump together a bunch of securities and hope for the best a la the West Indies cricket team.