If one bought and held the Dow from 1921 to present, the total return would be 500,000% (5,000x)!
On the other hand, CPI has gone from 17.6 to 271.7 in the past century, so that 5000x total return is really 324x after adjusting for inflation -- also known as 6%.
Now, 6% after inflation is nothing to sneeze at; but it started at a cherry-picked low point in the market and it comes with a lot of market volatility... and it's still not dramatically better than the 4-5% which ultra-long term investors (e.g. university endowment funds) aim to receive after inflation.
On the other hand, CPI has gone from 17.6 to 271.7 in the past century, so that 5000x total return is really 324x after adjusting for inflation -- also known as 6%.
Now, 6% after inflation is nothing to sneeze at; but it started at a cherry-picked low point in the market and it comes with a lot of market volatility... and it's still not dramatically better than the 4-5% which ultra-long term investors (e.g. university endowment funds) aim to receive after inflation.