There have been other opportune times to put money at risk.*
From World Beta:
Let’s say you just decided whether to invest once a year, and your timeframe was for the next 10 years. What have been the 10 best, and worst years to invest since 1871? (10 year real returns, compounded)....MORE
If you were trading the Denarius/Shekel in A.D. 70 there was some opportunity. And risk if you took the wrong side:
"Here at Masada Securities we consider ourselves a fortress of strength in these uncertain times...."On October 13th '08 the DJIA was up 11.38% on the day so we decided to show what some real moves looked like:
"Ja, ja, So Your U.S. Market is Up a Bit, Ever Hear of Berlin, 1923?
It was while skimming the GFD list that this popped out (remember this is inflation adjusted!):
Best and Worst Investment Periods in Germany
What
were the best and worst months in the history of the German stock
market? The most obvious factor is the importance of the hyperinflation
of 1922 through 1924. The data have been calculated in real returns,
adjusting for inflation during the hyperinflation of the 1920s, and as
you can see, the hyperinflation provided investors with both strong
returns and dismal returns, though more of the latter. The dates outside
of the 1920s which registered as among the best and the worst are
conspicuous, October 1949 for the stabilization of the German financial
system, November 1918 for the end of World War I, September 1931 in the
middle of the collapse of the German economy, and of course, October
1987.
| Best Months | Percent Return | Worst Month | Percent Return |
| September 1923 | 99.12% | August 1922 | -43.90% |
| December 1922 | 67.91% | December 1923 | -31.68% |
| June 1923 | 60.38% | July 1922 | -29.94% |
| August 1924 | 47.66% | August 1923 | -29.32% |
| November 1923 | 38.25% | November 1919 | -29.26% |
| October 1949 | 32.04% | April 1924 | -27.98% |
| April 1920 | 31.67% | September 1931 | -25.85% |
| February 1923 | 29.58% | October 1922 | -24.65% |
| April 1923 | 29.28% | November 1918 | -23.16% |
| October 1923 | 26.20% | October 1987 | -27.31% |
The Best and Worst Years
What
about the best and worst years for stocks in Germany? Again, the 1920s
and 1930s dominate the data, with 1923 providing probably the strongest
return to any stock market in the history of stock markets as German
stocks recovered from the collapse into hyperinflation of 1922 when
stocks provided their worst returns in German history. The post-World
War II period also provided some of Germany's best returns.
| Best Year Ending | Percent Return | Worst Year Ending | Percent Return |
| November 1923 | 1229.73% | October 1922 | -84.89% |
| January 1924 | 521.73% | February 1920 | -81.25% |
| July 1959 | 126.11% | August 1919 | -77.65% |
| February 1950 | 120.22% | January 1923 | -67.79% |
| January 1927 | 114.11% | December 1918 | -56.03% |
| February 1921 | 110.39% | November 1924 | -48.26% |
| December 1926 | 108.11% | April 1932 | -46.29% |
| February 1927 | 107.09% | September 1931 | -44.30% |
| December 1949 | 102.32% | January 1926 | -38.88% |
| January 1952 | 98.17% | December 1987 | -36.49% |
Ja, I have your puny little American 11%.
I haven't checked these numbers against Gielen (Gregor, I forget the book) but I seem to remember that during the first week of 1924 the Berlin Exchange was up 30%, so these are the right order of magnitude. Here are the Global Financial Data lists of largest moves through 1999.
Of course by May 1945 things had changed again.
