Keen-eyed investors will have noticed a common footnote on all their mutual fund and ETF performance statements: “Performance quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future ...

Take 2024, for example. Our A team of the 10 top Dividend All-Stars collectively posted an equal-weighted total return of 32.49% for the year to November 30, our cutoff date.

Mutual fund shoppers beware. “Past performance is not an indicator of future outcomes.” That’s a variation of a disclaimer you’ll see in mutual fund marketing materials.