z3r0c00l wrote:But how many put their entire nest egg into the market right before a crash and then never add any more money? I would like to see the worst 30 years for someone who invested $1,000 a year for the entire 30 years.
I can tell you right now about the worst 20 years in modern times for the S&P 500, which ended in 1948.
It started with a loss of 9.46% for 1929.
Then it was -22.72% in 1930 and -44.2% for 1931.
Other notable years were
+56.79% in 1935, +32.55% in 1936;
-32.11% in 1937 and +39.35% in 1945.
That was a wild ride.
For a lump sum the CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) was 3.09%. But for Dollar-Cost-Averaging with equal contribtions at the beginning of each year, the CAGR/average APY was 7.47%.
By the end of that period in 1948, contributing $1,000 per year would result in $46,405 for the investment of $20,000.
jimb