Here is a dataset that includes the value of the S&P and dividends, going back to the 1800's. http://www.econ.yale.edu/~shiller/data.htm http://www.econ.yale.ed

Here is a dataset that includes the value of the S&P and dividends, going back to the 1800's. http://www.econ.yale.edu/~shiller/data.htm http://www.econ.yale.edu/~shiller/data.htm The dividend yield used to be much higher, the long term average is 4-5%. The current yield of 2% is pitiful. Dividends are really how you make money investing in stocks, the price appreciation is really just a proxy for money supply growth, see http://www.cashflowanalytics.com/news.php?articleID=172 http://www.cashflowanalytics.com/news.php?articleID=172. You can get that same kind of appreciation investing in gold, art, 1950's baseball cards - anything that people value and find hard to dilute. I've wondered if the appreciation of the S&P index takes into account the constant reweighting that needs to be done. For instance, there's a lag as the company falls out of the index and when a mutual fund can actually sell it. I've also wondered if it takes into account the dilution rate of stocks, which traditionally has been around 2% a year.