Right you are. If you do a running average for any tan year period since 1900, the rate of return for the DOW is in the 10% to 12% range. The extreme fluctuations during any given day may be +/- 40% or more. It's enough to give anyone the vapors!
The best advise is do not try to time the market 'cuz you will inevitably end up buying high and selling low. Also, do not put all your eggs in one basket, you'll want to diversify. I do not have enough to consider investing in individual stocks, I pick conservatively managed mutual funds and let the managers do the picking. Sticking with no load funds keeps your costs down.
Regards,
GtG
?? It took the DOW twenty-five (25) years just to break even after the '29 crash. I'm sure we agree on far more than we disagree, but not too sure about the "any ten year period" thing..