Here’s the good news: Stocks have delivered rewarding returns in the long run, even after adjusting for inflation.

In total we have 97 years of S&P500 return data (1926-2022) and the annualized return 1926-2022 is 10.1.  So the last 20 year result of 9.8 is very close to the entire 97 years, and that includes both 2008’s ugly -37.0% return and last year’s uncomfortable -18.1% return.

Stocks have quietly been up the last 6 months. Who knew? They haven’t yet returned to the level of 1/1/2022 - but of course will return there and go on to new highs at a schedule that we can’t predict in advance.

People have memories. Markets don’t. And that’s a good thing. So as you start 2023, take a lesson from the market. Don’t begin this new year bogged down by what happened last year. Give yourself the opportunity to start fresh.