TL;DR
An accumulator who started investing in January 2000 saw a 50% drawdown by 2002, recovery by 2007, another 57% drawdown by 2009. Net result by 2010: ~0% real return. Net result by 2024: roughly market-average.
In short
The 2000 cohort is the closest modern analogue to 1929 or 1966. Investors who kept buying through both crashes ended up doing fine; investors who froze or quit locked in disasters. Time horizon and discipline mattered more than asset allocation.
We're working on a full deep-dive for this article — including historical data, charts, and worked examples. In the meantime, you can run a free simulation to explore the underlying numbers yourself.
Frequently asked questions
- Was there any allocation that beat US equities in the 2000s?
- Yes — emerging markets, commodities, and international developed markets all outperformed US equities 2000-2010. Diversification helped, US-only didn't.
- Could a similar lost decade repeat?
- Yes — and current high valuations make it more likely than the long-run average. Plan around the possibility, don't predict the date.
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