Happy New Calendar Year

It is time to flip the calendar on another year and also to reflect on what has been a very impressive market in 2021.  Speaking of markets and calendars, the total return on the S&P 500 (the 500 largest US companies) has been quite impressive for the past 95 years, or dating back to 1926.  Think about this, over this period we have seen countless historical events…wars, depressions, recessions, embargos, financial crisis’s, and throw in a pandemic, yet the market has still had a 10.3% average annual return.  Remarkable.  Even more remarkable, over these 95 years we have only seen seven calendar years where the market is down by 14% or more, just seven.  On the flip side we have seen 48 years (more than half) up 14% or more. We cannot predict the future but we can use the odds to our advantage.  Here’s to a healthy and happy 2022!  (research source Ibbotson Associates)