What investing from 1990 was like
1990 itself lost 3.4%, with a recession under way and Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait sending oil prices up. What followed was one of the great runs in market history, including five straight years of returns above 20%, from 1995 through 1999.
The bill came due in 2000–2002, when the dot-com bubble burst and the market fell 38% from the end of 1999. In nominal terms that was made up by 2006. After inflation, the 1999 peak wasn’t regained until 2013, after the 2008 crash set it back a second time.
All at once, or a little each month?
$10,000 invested on the first day of 1990 grew to $402,968 by the end of 2025. The same $10,000 spread evenly over all 432 months, $23.15 a month, grew to $105,166. Across every 36-year period in the data, investing it all at once came out ahead every time, because money invested sooner spends longer in a market that rises more often than it falls.
How 1990–2025 ranks
There are 120 periods of 36 calendar years in the data, which starts in 1871. This one ranks 45 of 120, with 10.81% a year. The best was 1933–1968 at 12.96%, the median 10.46%, and the worst 1906–1941 at 5.44%.
Every year since 1990: returns, inflation and the value of $100
| Year | Total return | Inflation | Real return | $100 from 1990 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | −3.4% | +6.1% | −9.0% | $96.58 |
| 1991 | +31.0% | +3.1% | +27.1% | $126.47 |
| 1992 | +7.6% | +2.9% | +4.6% | $136.08 |
| 1993 | +10.2% | +2.7% | +7.2% | $149.92 |
| 1994 | +1.2% | +2.7% | −1.4% | $151.71 |
| 1995 | +38.0% | +2.5% | +34.6% | $209.39 |
| 1996 | +23.1% | +3.3% | +19.1% | $257.67 |
| 1997 | +33.7% | +1.7% | +31.4% | $344.43 |
| 1998 | +28.7% | +1.6% | +26.7% | $443.38 |
| 1999 | +21.1% | +2.7% | +17.9% | $536.98 |
| 2000 | −9.1% | +3.4% | −12.1% | $488.06 |
| 2001 | −12.0% | +1.6% | −13.3% | $429.59 |
| 2002 | −22.3% | +2.4% | −24.1% | $333.92 |
| 2003 | +28.7% | +1.9% | +26.3% | $429.82 |
| 2004 | +10.8% | +3.3% | +7.3% | $476.33 |
| 2005 | +4.8% | +3.4% | +1.3% | $499.15 |
| 2006 | +15.7% | +2.5% | +12.9% | $577.71 |
| 2007 | +5.5% | +4.1% | +1.3% | $609.26 |
| 2008 | −37.2% | +0.1% | −37.3% | $382.49 |
| 2009 | +27.1% | +2.7% | +23.8% | $486.18 |
| 2010 | +14.9% | +1.5% | +13.1% | $558.48 |
| 2011 | +2.1% | +3.0% | −0.9% | $570.04 |
| 2012 | +15.9% | +1.7% | +13.9% | $660.56 |
| 2013 | +32.4% | +1.5% | +30.5% | $874.78 |
| 2014 | +13.8% | +0.8% | +12.9% | $995.59 |
| 2015 | +1.3% | +0.7% | +0.6% | $1,009 |
| 2016 | +11.9% | +2.1% | +9.7% | $1,129 |
| 2017 | +21.9% | +2.1% | +19.4% | $1,377 |
| 2018 | −4.4% | +1.9% | −6.2% | $1,316 |
| 2019 | +31.7% | +2.3% | +28.8% | $1,734 |
| 2020 | +18.4% | +1.4% | +16.8% | $2,052 |
| 2021 | +28.8% | +7.0% | +20.4% | $2,644 |
| 2022 | −18.1% | +6.5% | −23.1% | $2,165 |
| 2023 | +26.3% | +3.3% | +22.2% | $2,734 |
| 2024 | +25.0% | +2.9% | +21.5% | $3,418 |
| 2025 | +17.9% | +2.7% | +14.8% | $4,030 |
How this is calculated
Returns are calendar-year total returns: the change in the S&P 500 plus dividends, reinvested. Before 1957 the figures are Robert Shiller’s reconstruction of the broad U.S. market, as the index itself didn’t yet have 500 stocks. Real returns subtract December-to-December inflation. The data is yearly, so falls within a year, like the spring of 2020, don’t show; the biggest fall here is measured between year-end values. Fees and taxes are left out.
For what prices did over the same years, see what $100 in 1990 is worth today. Every figure here comes from the same data as the S&P 500 return calculator. The method is on the methodology page.
Sources
- Robert J. Shiller, U.S. stock market data (S&P Composite, dividends and CPI), Yale University.
- S&P Dow Jones Indices, S&P 500 total returns for recent years.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), December values.