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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26P_500_Index#Annual_returns https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26P_500_Index#Annual_returns > Total Annual Return Including Divid

• toomuchtodo 8y ago
  Entirely dependent on when you get in and out of the market. http://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/01/02/business/20110102-metrics-graphic.html http://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/... (archive.nytimes.com: In Investing, It’s When You Start And When You Finish) "Investors often have expectations of real annual returns greater than 7 percent — the areas in green. But over 20 years or longer, rates that high are rare." "After accounting for dividends, inflation, taxes and fees, $10,000 invested at the end of 1961 would have shrunk to $6,600 by 1981. From the end of 1979 to 1999, $10,000 would have grown to $48,000." “Market returns are more volatile than most people realize,” Mr. Easterling said, “even over periods as long as 20 years.”
• jfk13 8y ago
  Sure, that's nice. (Although it seems to have been heading somewhat lower for the past decade.) But if you'd started investing in 1998, say, and then in 2008 something happened such that you unexpectedly needed access to your 10 years' worth of accumulated resources, things wouldn't have looked so rosy. Overall, the long-term trend may be pretty reliably positive. But that's little comfort to an individual who may not have the luxury of waiting out a poorly-timed, lengthy downturn.
  • PButtNutter 8y ago
    Right, and most of the gains will be in the last year because exponents - so if you have to pull out early those gains are ded.