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 Posted: Fri, Nov 30 2007, 1:24 pm EST Post subject: How to lose $9 trillion in a bull market |
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How to lose $9 trillion in a bull market
That's what bad timing cost investors over the past 25 years. But you can learn to avoid a similar fate.
By Jason Zweig, Money Magazine senior writer/columnist
November 29 2007: 10:59 AM EST
NEW YORK (Money Magazine) -- The day-to-day fluctuations of the stock market are hard to fathom, but fortunately they mean very little in the long run.
There is, however, a bigger market mystery well worth pondering: In 1982 the total value of the U.S. stock market, as measured by the Wilshire 5000 index, was $1.2 trillion.
The index has since returned an average annual rate of 13.3 percent - enough to turn that $1.2 trillion into $28.2 trillion. Yet the value of Wilshire stocks, as of Sept. 30, was $18.7 trillion, meaning investors earned far less than 13.3 percent a year.
Did $9.5 trillion disappear? And how can investors earn less than their investments?
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http://money.cnn.com/2007/11/29/pf/bull_market_timing.moneymag/ |
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