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Zacks Advantage Blog

Is the Stock Market Really as Volatile as You Think?

June 27th, 2017 | Posted in Investing

Investors are used to hearing how the stock market is a roller coaster, which makes it seem like it’s had as many down years as up years. But that’s not really accurate.

CNBC recently related a different take on the S&P 500’s annual return performance. And it may surprise investors who think the stock market experiences just as many negative return years as positive ones.

Since 1928, the S&P has delivered positive returns on an annual basis over 70% of the time, with returns in excess of 20% more than 25% of the time. *

It’s no wonder investing in the stock market has been one of the single greatest generators of personal wealth in the past century.*

As Always, Keeping a Longer Term View is Key

The stock market’s advance is not so much a roller coaster as it is a series of jogs and sprints interrupted by occasional face-plants. But it has spent much more time going forward than back.For investors, the message is clear: as we’ve mentioned before on the Zacks Advantage blog, to reap the stock market’s longer term rewards, don’t panic during bear markets. Because downturns are in fact relatively rare.

Learn more about how Zacks Advantage combines the simplicity and low fees of a robo advisor with performance-focused active management. Download our Overview Guide today!


* http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/datafile/histretSP.html


Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss

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