With the caveat, historical returns do not predicate future returns. If you invested in the S&P 500 from 97-99 and didn't sell before the large sell off of 200

With the caveat, historical returns do not predicate future returns. If you invested in the S&P 500 from 97-99 and didn't sell before the large sell off of 2000 you would have to wait until 2010 before you saw positive inflation adjusted returns.