That's not the same. Money doesn't just appear all at once ready to dump on the market, we get and invest it every paycheck. So average cost basis over time gets higher as you make purchases
annualized return is annualized return, his strategy gave him < 9% annualized return and that is being generous, saying he's invested for 4 years not 5.
if you look at SPX returns over the last four years, 2018 was a negative year but each year after was between 16% and 28%. also 2017 was over 19%.
I mean that applies to anyone in this thread more than me specifically. I'm not saying Wealthfront is the best option, just that I've been fine with it as someone who knows nothing about investing and didn't want to keep throwing money into a savings account. And if we're being picky about time, I'm closer to 4 years in Wealthfront and was up 50% all time a few weeks ago. Still not the best, but better than savings.