Market History

The Market History tool includes the S&P 500 with and without dividends from 1937 to current, updated annually and Dow Jones Industrial from 1901 to current, updated annually.  On all three columns, you can get an average and an actual as well as the year by year historical return. Some ways to use it: This tool can help you demonstrate actual vs. average rates of return, and furthermore, you can use this invaluable information (combined with other calculators) to show what actual returns would have been with fees and taxes added to the equation. While past returns are no guarantee of future gains, this chart demonstrates that, for most time frames, the stock market does not earn the “12% per year” rate of return promised by some financial gurus. It also helps to illustrate the peaks and valleys that are inevitable in the market, perhaps to help a client highly vested in stocks to see when it might be a good time to leave the casino.