Where does the mystery of the Dow averaging 10% a year come from?

The Dow open within 1896 at $40 and be $1000 within 1972. That is exactly inflation. The Dollar decrease to 1/25 of its 1896 worth. That method, until 1972, the Dow merely kept par beside inflation.
The artistic dow comprised of with the sole purpose 12 stocks. Adjusted for that, the picture looks even more desolutionary. If you invested money in the Dow in 1896, you would own within 1972 smaller number money, afterwards you put contained by.
Only below Clinton, the Dow haul from 2700 to 10,500 by the close of his tenure (1993 to 2000).
Since Bush (2000) the Dow have not kept up near inflation again, similar approaching it didn't the first 78 years.
Without the 401's surrounded by Mutual Funds, the Dow would most credible be at 3000 today.
My ask is, where on earth does the myth come from, that investing in stocks or funds will increase your lavishness over the long run?
Or is that a marketing not tell the truth to change within on us stupid sheep?

Answers:
The price of the Dow does not include dividends. Dividends comprise an gigantic amount of the return of the Dow stocks. The usual statement is that more than 40% of your return comes from dividends, though that depends upon the index and the time frame that you are considering. (It's unyielding to find long-term total returns for the Dow. I tried.)

So, stocks in reality did much better than inflation over the length that you are looking at. We aren't sheep. (Baah!)
I can not pin-point you where on earth the perception of averaging 8-10% return (not on the same wavelength for inflation) in the stock open market first comes from. I do know from the different books I've read (random bearing down wall street, the intelligent investor) that such concept existed since the 70s and are probably back by ambition studies. It should not surprise you that it is a passable return because if bonds, can hold a return of read out 4-6%, next why shouldn't the stocks, which is riskier, pass a slightly greater return? Just to answer your doubt of the stock flea market between 1892 and 1972. You cannot simply subtract the return of stock by simply manoeuvre the points gain, what in the order of the dividends? And posterior contained by those times, dividends accounts for a significant slice of the total return. (although i am still surprised that the point gain between the era just manage to save up beside inflation). As for the great bull marketplace of the 90s, it become a bubble at the finishing and go burst. That accounts why the bazaar be so stagnant during most of Bush supervision. But afterwards again, 6-7 years are not even considered long permanent status. We are chitchat going on for path longer time fram than that. To verbs, elevated single digit to low double digit is what you can expect from investing, and in most times what you are competent to take (even for the professionals, merely ask the majority of mutual fund manager who can't even outperform the S&P 500). So, don't verbs more or less getting duped by those claims. (it's a different story if a fund/someone promise your return of >15%, it is lately so impossible to outperform the bazaar consistantly over the long run, just a few hold done it.)
Inflation did not average 10% per year. Inflation is currently lone 2-3% (not counting gas), and my stocks are doing really powerfully this year (not counting the later month).
First, the inflation rate from 1896 to 1972 be much lower than you focus it be. It truly averaged 2.10%, much lower than the average annual return of 4.33% for the Dow. Where do I carry my numbers? Well, the inflation subtraction come from the inflation calculator at westegg.com and the Dow return is calculated from the numbers you give.

In other words, you would enjoy made a unadulterated return of 2.23% respectively year from 1986 to 1976. That's pretty fitting.

The certainty that the productive Dow contained 12 stocks and the current one have 30 is irrelevent. When stocks are added or changed the divisor is changed to hold on to a even playing corral.

Since you're so wrong and I'm not even partly process through your posting I'm not going to bother refute the rest of it. Do your homework back post a bunch of wrong nonsence.
They're both annualized rates. While the rate of 8-10 percent, usually cited as the S and P return, is a nominal rate its still around 7 percent legitimate return, compared to a 3-4 percent annualized rate of inflation.
I infer that the idea of the Dow Jones average growth rate is base on learned research done on securities returns. Most of the research I own see on DJIA and S&P500 returns any begin within 1945 post-war era or surrounded by 1982 (the instigation of the most recent trunk cycle).

While you're right that the long-term price appreciation since 1900 (to untimely 2006) is around 5% per year (compounded annual growth rate),

However, alike price appreciation rate is around 7% since 1945. This sort of make sense since the souk be relatively flat within the 1900s to 1920, consequently also suffered surrounded by the Great Depression. If you give to the average price appreciation the annual 2-3% dividend rate that the DJIA stocks hold deliver on average within this extent, you procure a total return of 9-10% (around mythological number you refer to).

Since 1982, the annual growth rate be roughly 11%. The cause of the myth could also be base on this time frame.

I would steal a look at research done by Ibbotson & Associates contained by Chicago for more detail, as capably as research from the University of Chicago's Center for Research on Securities Prices (CRSP), as very well as the book "Stocks for the Long Run" by Jeremy Seigel at Wharton.

Hope this help. If your underlying give somebody the third degree relates to the merits of stock investing vs bonds, I cogitate the mass of the erudite evidence is strongly surrounded by favor of a diversified portfolio that includes domestic & international stocks, bonds, etc.
Your math is a bit bad...

According to a handly little website call the inflation calculator $4.86 in 1972 have the purchasing power of $1 in 1896, which is demonstrably powerfully below the increase in the dow over matching time interval.

The dow apparently hit its adjectives time low on 28.48 contained by 1896. By Dec 31st, 2001 it stood at 10,788 increasing 378.8 times during that term. In 2001 $19.95 have like peas in a pod purchasing power as $1 in 1896. This is for a while smaller amount than a 6% compound return, however the bazaar average doesn't include dividend payments. Also the DJIA is a list of substantial companies, which tend to grow a bit more slowly than the marketplace as a integral.

Also stocks are not trading at historically peculiar PE ratio (ie in that is without doubt no cause bringing up the rear your 3000 remark.)


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