mysql
Registered
A very good recap. Hard to dispute what is obvious.
It isn't so rosy once you factor in inflation.
On the chart, the long term trend line in green shows an average return of 1.9% per year. If you factor in the long term 15% capital gains tax, the return is even worse. Since capital gains tax is not adjusted for inflation, the average tax must be based on the 5.4% trend of the non inflation adjusted chart, so 15% of 5.4% is a 0.8% tax. Therefore, your 1.9% return is reduced to 1.1% after taxes. Most people have no idea that this meager amount of capital gains is all they should logically expect from a long term general stock market investment.
The Dow has historically moved within well defined channel. The boundaries of the channel have been touched only 4 times since 1910. The top of the channel was last touched in 2000.
They say "the market always goes up in the long term," but at an average return of 1.9% per year, it can take many years to recover from a large decline. The peak in 1929 was not ultimately exceeded until 1992. When the market touched the bottom of the channel in 1982, its value was about equal to the value at the beginning of the chart in 1910.
Last edited by a moderator: