Affluent investors have scaled down their expectations for the stock market over the next decade to single-digit annual returns, according to a new survey.

None of which means that investors are assured of double-digit returns in 1996, or even single-digit returns.

But his down-home approach suffered a setback when his hedge fund had a few years of single-digit returns during the stock market bubble of the late 1990's.

The survey said 2005 was the third year that he had posted single-digit returns.

We are looking at single-digit returns, which makes bonds and cash competitive with stocks.

It posted single-digit returns in 1996 and 1997 and has badly lagged behind its peers so far this year.

"When you look out five, six, seven, eight years, you're looking at highish single-digit returns, not returns in the high teens," he said.

What could change that, in my opinion, is if they go through a long period of single-digit returns.

In the 1998-1999 period, when the oil market was on its knees, companies were generating single-digit returns.

"Investors are willing to accept single-digit returns," he said.