Could we be approaching a so-called “lost decade” for stocks — one in which equity returns for the previous 10 years were flat or negligible? If we are, it is an occurrence that happens very infrequently.
In fact, in the 20th century there were only two periods in which rolling 10-year annual total returns fell below today’s 3.06% level: one that began with the Great Depression and one in the decade that ended with the recession of the mid-1970s.
The major market downturns that bottomed in these lost decades of the 20th century are highlighted in the chart below. It also shows that long-term investors who remained invested in the market were rewarded with better rolling 10-Year annual total returns in the years that followed.
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In fact, in the 20th century there were only two periods in which rolling 10-year annual total returns fell below today’s 3.06% level: one that began with the Great Depression and one in the decade that ended with the recession of the mid-1970s.
The major market downturns that bottomed in these lost decades of the 20th century are highlighted in the chart below. It also shows that long-term investors who remained invested in the market were rewarded with better rolling 10-Year annual total returns in the years that followed.
Read the complete report
