Dow Jones Returns
Since The Dow Jones was founded, it has attained an average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.44%, or 10.15% including dividends.
To give you an idea of the compounding effect the DJIA has had overtime, I will provide some stats.
$10,000 invested in 1896 would be $6,407,055 today, after 122 years of compounded growth.
For a more relatable time-frame, consider the following scenario:
An 18-year-old would like to start building a retirement fund and decided to invest $10,000 and no more until retirement.
Their initial $10,000 investment would have grown to $940,311 by the time they turned 67 years old, whilst attaining average historical Dow Jones returns.
Although this time frame is lengthy, the CAGR achieved is impressive nonetheless. Including dividends, at this rate, you would have doubled your investment every 7.09 years.
Think about that for a second.