The Bureau of Historic Losses · Counterfactual Division
What if you'd bought the Dow Jones in 2009?
The index started 2009 near 9,000 with Lehman's wreckage still smouldering and unemployment climbing. From the March low almost nobody wanted thirty industrial giants at any price — which is precisely why the decade that followed was so unkind to the people who passed.
$100 on 2009-01-02, worth today
US$567
As of 2026-06-12, $100 of the Dow Jones bought at 2009's open (US$9,035) is worth US$567 — 5.67×.
price return · index level · USD
How much would $100 of the Dow Jones bought in 2009 be worth today?
| You'd have put in | You'd have now | Multiple |
|---|---|---|
| US$100 | US$567 | 5.67× |
| US$1,000 | US$5,667 | 5.67× |
| US$10,000 | US$56,673 | 5.67× |
Lump sum on the year's first trading day, tracking the index level (price return, before dividends), valued at the latest close. Past performance isn't a promise — it's a taunt.
What did the Dow Jones do in 2009?
Opened
US$9,035
2009-01-02
Peaked
US$10,549
2009-12-30
Bottomed
US$6,547
2009-03-09
Closed
US$10,428
2009-12-31
These are the index's own closing levels (price return). Real index funds also pay dividends, so a true total-return figure would be higher still.
Would steady buying have beaten going all in?
US$91,100 deployed as $100 a week from 2009-01-02, under four temperaments — same money, different nerves.
| All in on day one | US$516,291 |
| Steady weekly buys | US$244,862 |
| Sold dips, rebought rallies | US$217,551 |
| Traded it perfectly | US$246,580 |
“Traded it perfectly” requires knowing the future. Nobody knew the future.
The same $1,000, elsewhere
$1,000 at 2009's open, each valued at the latest close. Hindsight remains undefeated.
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