Stay the Course
Growth of $10,000 · S&P 500 Total Return · 1926–2025
Panic seller — exits to T-bills forever Save Image
Source: Slickcharts / Robert Shiller. S&P 500 / Composite Index total returns including reinvested dividends, 1926–2025.
Pre-1957 data reflects the S&P 90 Composite Index. Each orange line represents a different investor who panicked at a major crash and moved to 3-month T-bills, never returning to stocks.
Log scale. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Hypothetical example.
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