This is a bit of a variation on our customary annual chart. (We don’t usually go back earlier than 1940 when doing this)
But it’s an opportunity to update the JP Morgan/Bloomberg chart for 2013, 2014 and 2015 and help with some long-term perspective.
The annualized total return on the S&P 500 (VFINX) since January 8, 1980 is 10.1%.
Check out the performance of the S&P 500 over the last six years versus the Value Line Arithmetic Average ($VLE).
I still remember Ralph Acampora’s warnings from the podium back in 2000-2001 with respect to S&P 500 index fund investing. Anybody who listened may have skipped that “Lost Decade.”
It’s different this time (compared to the late 1990s).
Expecting Alpha 