Some US Stock Market trivia and perspectives:
- Nasdaq closed above 4000 today for the first time since Sept 7, 2000
- The S&P 500 is up 27% year-to-date
- In 2012, the S&P 500 was up 16%
- Combined, the S&P 500 is up 47% since Jan 1, 2012.
NOTE: These S&P gains include dividends as well as the index values.
So this makes folks a bit nervous
But if you retired before Jan of 2012, your portfolio is up considerably even after annual withdrawals. It would take a stock market sell off of 30% to erase the past two year's gains (not counting withdrawals). That's a pretty strong bear market.
In 2008, a really bad bear market, the S&P500 lost 37% (including dividends), for comparison. Even though the "bear market" began the prior year in October of 2007, the S&P 500 including dividends gained 5.5% for the full 2007 year.
It's the folks who are retiring right now, or did within the past year that might should be nervous.
I just point these things out to folks who are nervous about the current markets. How bad of a market selloff would it take to really hurt you if your portfolio has enjoyed the gains from the past two years?
Knocking on wood very hard regardless!!!!!