To put all this in historical perspective, the average annual return for the S&P 500 over the past 83 years, since 1926, has been 9.7%. If the market rose at that historic rate, it would take more than nine years to get back to the October 2007 highs.

What is the lesson from these sobering statistics? The recovery in stock prices is likely to take much longer than we had hoped, and investors should taper their expectations accordingly. Raising the risk level of your investments to accelerate gains will set you up for even greater losses if your risky investments don’t work out. Instead, allocate your assets wisely and be mindful of the risks in the different asset classes you choose.