Over the span of a few months or a couple of years, Wall Street is highly unpredictable. Since this decade began, the ageless Dow Jones Industrial Average, broad-based S 500, and growth-fueled Nasdaq Composite have traded off bull and bear markets on a few occasions.

However, panning out drastically changes this perspective. Over multidecade periods, the stock market is a leading creator of wealth, with annualized returns that outpace the bond market, gold, oil, and housing. It means that any significant downturn in the major stock indexes represents a surefire buying opportunity for long-term investors -- and (hint, hint!) all three major stock indexes are currently below their all-time highs set roughly two years ago.

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Source Fool.com