Whether you're a novice investor or a seasoned veteran, you're witnessing history right now. For the past 122 months, the U.S. economy has been expanding. Dating back to the early 1860s, which is when relatively accurate record keeping for economic growth and recessions began, this represents the longest period of expansion in history. The previous record was March 1991 through March 2001 (120 months).
Over the past 122-plus months, long-term investors have flourished. All three of the market's major indexes -- the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI), S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), and Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) -- have hit all-time highs, with these indexes effectively quadrupling to quintupling from their Great Recession lows.
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