Funds invested, and reinvested, in the S&amp;P composite from 1998-2008 have yielded a real return of zero: the dividends earned on the portfolio have been just enough to offset inflation. Not since 1982 has a decade passed at the end of which investors would have been better off had they placed their money in corporate or United States Treasury bonds rather than in a diversified portfolio of stocks.
伯克利—在美国的标准普尔成分股票指数十年里第二次跌幅超过40%之后，全球的投资者们已经见惯不惊了。在1998-2008年间被投资并再投资于标普的成分股的资金所产生的真实回报为零：该股票组合所收益的股息正好可以抵消通胀。自1982年以来的任何一个十年期里，投资者们投资于多种股票组合所获得的回报都不如他们（如果）投资于公司或美国国库券本可以获得的收益。