Stock Indices

Both the S&P 500 and Wilshire 5000 are designed to track the largest publicly-traded U.S. stocks. In both cases, they are viewed as proxies for the U.S. stock market and to a lesser extent the U.S. economy but there are certain differences between the two.

During the longest bull market in modern history, the S&P 500 surged a whopping 418% over the 9.5 years between November 1990 and March 2000 but, in mere months, this famed bull market may lose its title as the “longest” in the modern era because, according to data and analysis from LDL Research, the current bull market will take over the claim to fame in late August 2018. In today’s chart, we show every bull market since WWII, including the top six which are covered in more detail.

Imagine that 5 years ago you invested $10,000 in the S&P 500. How much would it be worth today, with dividends reinvested but adjusted for inflation? The answer: $18,542 for an annualized real return of 12.41%. This article also provides the answers to S&P 500 returns over the last 10, 15, 20 and 30 years.

Based on the strong historical relationship between the age distribution of the U.S. population and stock market performance that has prevailed since the mid-1950s the upcoming waves of retirement of the baby boom generation born between 1946 and 1964 could push down U.S. equity markets. Why? Because, as boomers reach retirement age, they are likely to shift from buying stocks to selling them to finance retirement, and this massive sell-off could depress equity values. There appears to have been a breakup in that relationship of late, however, so what does that suggest for the timing and magnitude of any correction in the near future?

Is the bull market about to come to an end? If last year ends up being the top of this bull market, what does history say could happen to stocks this year?

...2017 provided many good times [but,] for worriers, the low volatility and steady gains of last year signal bad times are likely in 2018...[and] they have a point. It’s true that good times can’t last forever. [That being said,] it’s also true that we can spot when the good times have gone too far with this simple indicator.

If wealth preservation investors get out of their stocks and buy silver, they are likely to avoid the most massive wealth destruction in the next few years. Let me explain.

There are over 100,000 publicly traded companies in the world to choose from. Luckily, the use of a stock market index can help define a particular market, as well as track its performance in a way that is easy to reference.

9 years ago, Warren Buffett made a $500,000 bet that a simple index fund would outperform an actively managed hedge fund run by expert investors and it did for one or more of the 3 reasons outlined in this insightful article.

Momentum is one of the most misunderstood concepts in the investment world but few people grasp how much it impacts the markets - in both directions.