Stocks and the Long Term

When investing in individual stocks, it is prudent to invest in solid companies and to have a long term perspective. Anything short of that approach is not investing and is more appropriately called speculating, which is not to say that speculating is a bad thing, and that there isn't money to be made doing so, but rather that it should never be confused with investing. On that note and with the previous post about the 37-year history of the DIJA in mind, I'd like to share an even longer term, pictorial view of what the market has done to provide some perspective. See below:

Over the 120 year period represented in the graph above, there have been highs and lows, bull and bear markets, amazing run-ups and spectacular crashes, but the trend has been ever upward over the long term. As such, investors (not speculators) have therefore tended to do very well.

Just something to think about.