The long view

Headlines move markets by the hour. A century of the S&P 500 tells a calmer story: crashes happen, and patience has paid for every one of them.

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  • 110 Years of market data on record
  • 10.4% Average annual return, all decades
  • 41,593× What $1 became over the full span
  • 8 Major downturns survived since 1926

Time in the market beats timing the market.

An old trading-floor rule

Words worth money

Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.

Warren Buffett

Don’t look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack.

John C. Bogle

Know what you own, and know why you own it.

Peter Lynch

A trading day on Wall Street

New York Stock Exchange hours, Eastern Time, Monday to Friday.

  1. 04:00

    Pre-market

    Early trading on thin volume. Overnight news gets priced in first.

  2. 09:30

    Opening bell

    The busiest half hour. Gaps from the night before get filled or extended.

  3. 12:00

    Midday lull

    Volume thins out while traders wait for the next catalyst.

  4. 15:00

    Power hour

    Funds square their books. Moves in the last hour often set tomorrow's tone.

  5. 16:00

    Closing bell

    The official close. Earnings reports often land minutes later.

A century, one decade at a time

Average yearly return of the S&P 500 in each decade since 1920. Two of the eleven lost money. The other nine paid for them.

+18.0%
1920s
Roaring Twenties bull market
-0.9%
1930s
Great Depression
+9.0%
1940s
WWII and postwar boom
+19.4%
1950s
Post-war expansion and consumer boom
+7.8%
1960s
Space Race, Vietnam War spending
+5.9%
1970s
Oil crisis and stagflation
+17.3%
1980s
Reaganomics and market deregulation
+18.1%
1990s
Dot-com and technology boom
-0.9%
2000s
Dot-com bust and financial crisis
+13.5%
2010s
Longest bull market in history
+7.0%
2020s
Pandemic shock and AI-driven rebound
Best decade 1950s +19.4% Post-war expansion and consumer boom
Worst decade 1930s -0.9% Great Depression
Your own century Run your numbers

Decade averages, price return excluding dividends. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

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