This is an interesting point. The analysis was done on the 'index value' of the S&P 500 (from Yahoo Finance), not on any individual equities. I'm trying to disc

This is an interesting point. The analysis was done on the 'index value' of the S&P 500 (from Yahoo Finance), not on any individual equities. I'm trying to discover how long a 'long term investment' need be, if one invests in an S&P 500 index / ETF / iShare. (I'm no expert on the subtleties of those investment vehicles). My understanding is that they track (as best they can) the value of the index by investing in the stocks that compose the index. Therefore I guess that when company in the S&P 500 goes bust the effect that has on one's investment closely matches the effect it has on index value. I'll research that. Assuming this is true, I think we needn’t be concerned by the bankruptcy issue that you make. But please correct me if I'm wrong about that - I'm interested. I'll try to add TSR in the next analysis too.