Market View: 40 Years of Stock Market Performance

This chart reflects 40 years of history for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, an index consisting of 30 large capitalization U.S. companies and used as one barometer of the U.S. stock market. The chart covers the period from 1968 through 2008, and it also highlights some of the major events that have occurred in the economy and securities markets during those years.

ICMA-RC believes this chart helps demonstrate that investing with an appropriately long time horizon and not attempting to time the market has served to benefit most retirement-plan investors. We believe “time in the market and not timing the market” is important.

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This illustration was compiled by information from outside sources. These companies are not affiliated with ICMA-RC. This information is provided for educational purposes and is not intended to be construed as or relied upon as investment advice. The performance data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.