Ben Carlson, Columnist

Sometimes the Dow's Peaks Are Followed by ... More Peaks

Returns since 1915 show a pattern of more ups than downs.

January 30, 2017 at 1:00 PM UTC

Ben Carlson is director of institutional asset management at Ritholtz Wealth Management. He is the author of "Organizational Alpha: How to Add Value in Institutional Asset Management."

Been there, done that.
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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Last week, much attention was rightly focused on the Dow Jones Industrial Average as it breached the 20,000 mark for the first time.

In past cycles, such peaks have led to bouts of euphoria as investors had a fear of missing out on further gains. Although a similar feeling could be motivating some investors today, many seem to still be scarred by the two crashes of the past 16 years or so in which the market was cut in half each time.