Should You Really Invest in the Stock Market Right Now? History Offers a Clear Answer.

After years of record-breaking growth, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has been stagnant successful caller weeks -- up by conscionable 0.24% since the opening of the year, arsenic of this writing.

Many investors are besides divided connected wherever stocks are headed. While astir 35% consciousness optimistic astir the adjacent six months, according to the astir caller play survey from the American Association of Individual Investors, 37% consciousness pessimistic astir the aboriginal -- an summation from 29% successful aboriginal February.

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So is it truly harmless to put close now? Or should you clasp disconnected connected buying? History offers a crystal-clear answer.

With galore stocks reaching grounds precocious aft high, galore investors interest that the lone mode to spell is down. Historically, though, the marketplace has proven that it ever has country for much maturation -- if you're consenting to enactment invested for the agelong haul.

By keeping a semipermanent outlook, it doesn't needfully substance erstwhile you buy. Even if you put astatine the seemingly worst moment, you tin inactive physique important wealthiness implicit time.

For instance, accidental that you had invested successful an S&P 500 scale money oregon ETF successful December 2007. The U.S. was conscionable entering the Great Recession, which would past until mid-2009, and the S&P 500 wouldn't scope a caller all-time precocious until 2013.

In different words, investing successful precocious 2007 would mean buying astatine record-high prices instantly earlier 1 of the longest and astir terrible recessions successful U.S. history. Those years betwixt 2007 and 2013 would person been rough, but by today, the S&P 500 has earned full returns of much than 363%.

Now, could you person earned much if you'd held disconnected connected investing until 2009, erstwhile banal prices were astatine stone bottom? Of course. But trying to clip the marketplace is simply a double-edged sword. Wait excessively agelong to invest, and you could miss retired connected overmuch of the lucrative betterment period.

In astir cases, it's safer to proceed investing consistently, nary substance what the marketplace is doing. Even if you put astatine a "bad" moment, you tin inactive gain important returns implicit time.

The wide marketplace is incredibly apt to propulsion done economical unsmooth patches, but not each idiosyncratic stocks volition beryllium that lucky. Unstable companies are much apt to clang and burn, whether owed to a anemic concern model, shaky finances, deficiency of a competitory advantage, oregon mediocre enactment decisions.