How do return expectations of investors compare to historical stock returns and risk premiums? - Personal Investment Managem... How do return expectations of investors compare to historical stock returns and risk premiums? - Personal Investment Management > Investment Returns and Securities Market Risk Premiums Articles - Financial Articles, At the peak of the market bubble, many stock market participants had extremely high return expectations. The consensus of investment science is that the long term equity risk premium is 4% to 5%. In the wake of an extended and brutal post bubble bear market, investor return expectations in the second half of 2004 were much diminished. However, their expectations were still over twice as high as the long term historical equity risk premium. in Public bookmarkswith compareexpectationshistoricalinvestorsreturnreturnsriskstock