SP 500 Returns Every Year Since the 2008 Crash From the bottom of the financial crisis (-37% in 2008) through last month: 15 of the last 18 full years were positive

Average annual return since 2009: ~14.5% (including dividends)
Multiple years with 20%+ gains after the recovery kicked in
Even with two big drawdowns (2022 -18%, 2020 COVID dip), the long-term trend is unmistakably up

The big takeaway: markets recover and reach new highs after every major crash usually faster than most people expect. The ones who stayed invested through the fear (2009present) saw life-changing compounding.

The ones who panicked out missed the best years.

**Note: YTD SP 500 is down -1.88% as of market close yesterday.