How about 1981 to today?manuvns wrote:look at annual returns here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26P_500mptfan wrote:Umm...let's see...where do I start?manuvns wrote: stock market have remained at the same level last 13 years .
http://www.google.com//finance?chdnp=1& ... INX&ntsp=0
First, the chart you cited is a price chart, so it does not reflect the total return of the S&P500.
Second, the S&P 500 index is an index that reflects the price of 500 stocks, not the whole U.S. stock market, which I think is over 7,000 stocks.
Third, the U.S. stock market is less than half of the world stock market.
Fourth, a wise investor is diversified among different asset classes other than the 500 stocks in the S&P 500, including bonds and cash.
form the end of 1998 the till today the returns/CAGR are close to 1.8% . you can do better with a CD .
How about July, 2002 to today?
How about March 2009 to today?
Why can't I pick any date I want and say "Look how awesome the stock market is! Nearly 90% return in just 2.5 years!"
What's so special about the last 13 years? Are you predicting the future based on the last 13 years? Why can't I predict the future based on the last 9 years? or the last 2.5 years? Future looks pretty good if you use those numbers.