The Power of Compounding

At first glance, compounding does not look remarkable. However, looking at compounding in action, you will notice a few things.

Consider, for example, investing in stocks at an average real return of 6.8%. (It is inflation-adjusted.) During the first few years, compounding doesn't really do much. After ten years, your initial investment would nearly double. After 16 years, your initial investment would triple, and in 20 years, it will quadruple. By year 40, you're earning more than your initial investment every year.