How Much Do You Really Know
About Investing?
Ten questions on the ideas that actually move long-term returns — fees, diversification, active vs. passive, and the behaviour gap most investors don't know exists. Instant score, no email required.
Quick answer
The concepts that separate a confident investor from a guessing one aren't exotic — they're fees, diversification, and behaviour. Research from S&P's SPIVA scorecards shows the large majority of active U.S. large-cap funds underperform a plain S&P 500 index fund over 15 years, and Morningstar's Mind the Gap studies find the average investor earns roughly 1–2 percentage points less per year than their own funds report — purely from bad timing.
A 1.5%-vs-0.05% fee gap on $10,000 over 30 years costs roughly $25,000 — not because the fee is large in any single year, but because it compounds against you every year. That single fact, tested below, is the one most investors underestimate.
Sources: S&P Dow Jones Indices — SPIVA · Morningstar — Mind the Gap. Last updated 24 August 2026.
The 10 questions
Answers reveal as you pick, with the reasoning — and a link to Pepper if you want to go deeper on any of them.
1. Diversification
You're investing for 20+ years. Which is generally considered the lower-risk way to hold stocks?
2. Fees
Fund A charges a 1.5% annual fee. Fund B charges 0.05%. Invest $10,000 for 30 years at a 7% return before fees — roughly how much more does Fund A cost you?
3. Active vs. passive
Over 15-year periods, roughly what share of actively managed U.S. large-cap funds fail to beat a plain S&P 500 index fund?
4. Dollar-cost averaging
You invest a fixed $500 every month no matter what the market is doing, instead of trying to "buy the dip." What's the main benefit?
5. Risk and return
Which has delivered the highest average annual return over multi-decade periods, despite having the roughest short-term ride?
6. Market timing
Investors who frequently jump in and out of the market trying to time tops and bottoms tend to, on average...
7. Bonds
When interest rates rise, what typically happens to the market price of bonds that were already issued at lower rates?
8. Dividends
A stock's "dividend yield" is best described as...
9. Volatility vs. risk
Your portfolio drops 30% in a bear market, but you don't sell and don't need the money for another 20 years. What has actually happened to your wealth?
10. The behaviour gap
Compared with the actual return of the funds they invest in, the average fund investor's own return tends to be...
Answer all 10 to see your Investing IQ score — 0 of 10 done. Nothing is sent anywhere.
How does everyone else do?
Published research, so your score has something real to sit against.
| Measure | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Active large-cap funds beating the S&P 500 over 15 years | 10–20% | S&P SPIVA |
| Average annual investor "behaviour gap" vs. fund returns | ~1–2 points | Morningstar Mind the Gap |
| US adults correctly answering the diversification question (Big Three) | ~36% | TIAA–GFLEC 2026 |
| Extra cost of a 1.5% vs. 0.05% fee on $10k over 30 years | ~$25,000 | Compound-growth math |
Sources: S&P SPIVA scorecards, Morningstar Mind the Gap, and the TIAA–GFLEC P-Fin Index.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a good score on an investing IQ quiz?+
6 or more out of 10 puts you ahead of most casual investors — the gaps this quiz tends to expose (fee compounding, the behaviour gap, active-vs-passive odds) are exactly the ones that published research shows most people underestimate, regardless of how long they've been investing.
Do actively managed funds ever beat an index fund?+
Individual funds do, especially over shorter periods or in narrower markets — but S&P Dow Jones Indices' SPIVA scorecards have consistently found the large majority of U.S. large-cap active funds underperform the S&P 500 over 15-year stretches, and predicting which fund will be the exception in advance is the hard part.
Why does a 1% fee difference matter so much over time?+
Because fees compound against you the same way returns compound for you. A fee isn't a one-off cost — it's a permanent annual drag that reduces the base your future returns grow from, every single year, so the gap widens with time rather than staying fixed.
What is the investing "behaviour gap"?+
The difference between a fund's reported return and what the average investor in that fund actually earned, caused by buying and selling at the wrong times rather than the investments themselves. Morningstar's long-running Mind the Gap research has found this costs the average investor roughly 1–2 percentage points a year — larger than most fee differences.
Is this quiz financial advice?+
No. It's an educational self-check on general investing concepts, not personalized advice, and Richify holds no financial-advisor licence. Nothing you answer is sent anywhere — the score is computed entirely in your browser.
Know the theory? Now see it on your own numbers
What does a 1% fee actually cost me?
Compound Interest Calculator →
How diversified is my own portfolio, really?
All Your Portfolio, One View →
Am I on track for financial independence?
FIRE Calculator →
How financially literate am I overall?
Financial Literacy Quiz →
Educational only, not financial advice. Richify holds no AFSL, is not a registered investment adviser, and this quiz is a self-assessment rather than a diagnosis.
