Chris S

I'd like to see those #'s in real dollars (adjusted for inflation). Having 5x-9x your initial investment overstates the gains since it takes a lot more money to buy the same things than it did 20 years ago.

Harpoon

Do some research on inflation during the time period and then do the calculation yourself. There are tons of online calculators that will do this.

My original point is that there is a bunch of growth.

cthree

Inflation and dividends are pretty much a wash, that is why people leave them out. The S&P pays a little over 2% which after tax is about the average core inflation rate.

$100,000 invested in the DAX 20 years ago nets you about the same return as the S&P of 5x but is worth 45% more than that because of the currency exchange.

My point is I don't understand your point. A Mongolian could have invested $100,000 in the S&P500 20 years ago and he'd have the same return as you without setting foot in the US the whole time.

Besides, I'm just kidding around. Don't be so insecure. Keep doing what you're doing. It's working great.

vtec9

So are are going to say WaMu was the victor? Or does a bailout constitute a win..