Time brings perspective, and now might be a good time to reflect on that. This month has been exhausting for investors. The damage is relative. If you invested last month and need to sell now, you might have a problem. But if you are a prudent investor with a 3 to 5-year time horizon, I think you’ll be just fine. This is normal volatility. For perspective, consider the following views of the S&P 500.

First, consider how you feel. The chart below shows a 5-day view. Pretty lousy, huh?

Next, we’ll zoom out to a 3-month view. Not much better.

Now let’s see how the index has done over the past 12 months.

As the above chart shows, it has been like a roller coaster, but it is still positive. Now let’s zoom out to the 2-year view. I think most investors would be pleased with the 29% gain they would have received from the SPY, an ETF that tracks the total return of the S&P 500 including dividends. These charts show just the index, excluding dividends.

Finally, here’s the 5-year view that shows the accumulation of retained earnings created by millions of people going to work every day. This is more like it. Now our scary stock market looks more like a not so uncommon speed bump along the way to greater prosperity.

Exhale and have a nice day!

Charts from Yahoo Finance. Past results are not guaranteed. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal.