Our Guide to the Worst of the Stock Market

When it comes to investing, we often consider the extremes of performance in the U.S. stock market, at least as represented by the S&P 500. Unlike ordinary investing blogs, we often do it with a focus on the worst the market has ever delivered. Here's a quick guide to our posts on the topic!

The Five Worst Months in S&P 500 History

With September 2008 showing promise, here's our ranking of the five worst monthlong periods for the stock market!

The Five Worst Bear Markets Since 1871

The current market certainly qualifies as a bear, but then, it's not over yet so we can't say yet where it will rank. Unlike the five worst months, this analysis looks at the total stock market decline over a number of months and years.

The Worst Returns Ever for the S&P 500

We found the worst ever recorded rate of return for investments made in the S&P 500 for periods of time ranging from one year to 50 years long!

Visualizing the Worst Case Real Returns for the S&P 500

A graphic depiction of the worst rates of return on investments made in the S&P 500, after adjusting for inflation!

Lemony Snicket and the S&P 500

What if you had the worst luck ever, and for each time you put money into the S&P 500, you were guaranteed to get the worst rate of return recorded for the length of time that you kept your money in it? Our tool shows you how bad that would be, which really turns out to be surprisingly good....

S&P 500: Best, Average and Worst Returns Since 1871

Sometimes, it helps put market volatility in perspective if you can see the extremes over time!

The Worst Returns of the S&P 500 vs The Safest Investment on Earth

Believe it or not, in all the turmoil in which the market is going through, there's real hope for the average investor who has the time and the discipline to see their investment through!

Finally, we'd be remiss if we didn't point out that we have a tool that you can use to find the rate of return, with and without inflation, with and without reinvesting dividends, between any two months for the S&P 500, from January 1871 through the near present: The S&P 500 at Your Fingertips!