Should You Invest Now or Wait Until 2027? Here's What a Century of History Says.

Detailed summary

It would be understandable if someone were compelled to sit on the sidelines and wait for some of the signals to clear. But history says that investors who wait tend to come out…

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) last hit a closing record high on Oct. 6. Since then, it lost 4.4% in a single day and was as much as 6% below its all-time high. Even now, the index is roughly 3% below its October peak.

Volatility has picked up, investors have been rotating into non-tech equities, and there are certainly some potential vulnerabilities in the U.S. stock market heading into 2027. It would be understandable if someone were compelled to sit on the sidelines and wait for some of the signals to clear. But history says that investors who wait tend to come out behind.

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Over the past century, the S&P 500 has returned around 10% annually. That number includes every recession, bear market, and major economic event along the way. The key, however, is remaining invested throughout these periods.

Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) did a study recently about hypothetical investors who invested their money regularly along with folks who invested at market tops and bottoms. It found that people who invested entirely at the beginning of every calendar or monthly throughout the year actually didn't outperform a person who had perfect market timing (which, of course, is impossible). Even the person who invested at the market top every year still produced solid returns over the long term.

The only person who really fell behind was the one who consistently sat on the sidelines.

The lesson is that even if you consistently invest at the worst possible time, being in the market is still better than being out of it over the long term.

JPMorgan Asset Management (NYSE: JPM) did a study of forward-looking returns when investing at all-time highs versus all other days.

This sounds counterintuitive. A lot of people think that upside is somehow…

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