Yes if you average over the market you're likely to make money in the long term. Though note that in some cases long term can be on the order of two or more dec

Yes if you average over the market you're likely to make money in the long term. Though note that in some cases long term can be on the order of two or more decades. Buying into a risky market right before a down turn will only increase the time for you to see a return on your investment. Meanwhile you could have been making a "steady" income in less uncertain markets. Or even invested in the world market as a whole.