The best one-year index return delivered a 61% return, which occurred over the twelve months ending in June 1983. The worst one-year rolling time frame delivered a return of -43%, which occurred over the twelve months ending in February 2009. The chart above looks at the one-, thee-, five-, ten-, fifteen-, and twenty-year rolling index returns of the S&P 500 Index over the time period of January 1973 through December 2016. Over short time periods, an S&P 500 Index fund can deliver exceptionally high returns or exceptionally low returns, depending on the time period you are invested. The average smooths out the ups and downs. You don't get this complete view when you look only at average returns. Rolling returns give you a great picture of how the stock market performs over both good and bad times.
Rolling returns do not go by the calendar year instead, they look at every time period beginning anew each month over the historical time frame selected (e.g., one-year, three-years, five-years). Rolling Returns Provide A Great Way To View Market Performance This bar chart shows the rolling returns from 1973 - mid 2009 for the S&P 500 Index over 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, and 20 years.
