If you have been keeping an eye on business news this year, odds are you’ve seen the headline “The S&P 500 reaches another record high.” In fact, as of early September, the S&P 500 index has reached a record high 20 times this year. When considering all the events that occurred in 2025, from trade policy to geopolitical events, from the MAG 7 sell-off and rebound to stubbornly high interest rates, corporate America has been quite resilient in the face of a volatile landscape, and investors have benefited.
While the market is currently on pace to have another above-average return for the year, it’s also well ahead of pace to surpass the average number of occurrences an All-Time High has been attained in a calendar year. 
Exhibit A. Frequency of S&P 500: All-Time Highs by Decade
Source: Bloomberg, RBC GAM. Data as of January 1, 1950 to March 2024.
With the S&P presently flirting at an all-time high and a possible third year in a row of double-digits returns, we’ve been asked the question from clients with fresh cash to invest: “Is now the right time to begin buying stocks?” Our response? As any good advisor would say, “It depends on the purpose of this new capital, but one thing you should not do is let the market achieving an “all-time high” or a concern of a “market sell-off” deter you from investing.
When providing this response to clients, we’ve found the following data points to best illustrate this perspective:
All-time highs still deliver solid returns
Investing at an “All-Time High” has historically resulted in very solid double-digit returns, only slightly below investing at “Non All-Time Highs” for the following one, three, and five-year forward-looking periods.
Exhibit B. Historical Returns: Investing During All-time Highs vs. Non All-Time Highs
Source: Bloomberg, RBC GAM. Data for S&P 500 as of January 1, 1950 to March 2024.
Market corrections after highs are rare
The odds of a material correction (a decline of >10% from the high) are low, the market experiencing this level of decline in only 9% of time periods one year out and falls significantly once observing three-year (2%) and five-year time periods (0%).
Exhibit C. Frequency of Market Corrections Following All-Time Highs
Source: Bloomberg, RBC GAM. Data as of January 1, 1950 to March 2024, in U.S. dollars.
Long-term investors are often rewarded
Over the last 60 years, if you had invested in the S&P 500 at the start of any calendar year and held that investment for 10 years, you would have experienced a positive rate of return 97% of the time, and on average would have experienced an 11.32% annualized return.
For clients who remain risk averse despite these illustrations, we often have a conversation around Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) vs. Lump-Sum (LS) Investment. The data suggests that while a DCA approach does mitigate the risk of a negative outcome for shorter time periods (see Exhibit D)
where the range of potential return outcomes are less limiting the degree of a portfolio drawdown, it also significantly limits the upside return potential if you are investing for longer time periods (see Exhibit E). 
Exhibit D. 24-month Range of Return Outcomes for LS vs. DCA
Exhibit E. Ten-Year Compounded Cumulative Return Outcomes
The Bigger Picture: Time in the market is difficult
In summary, trying to time a market downturn is incredibly difficult; you not only need to know when to sell, but when to buy back in. History has shown that the average equity fund investor often buys in times of market euphoria and sells during times of market panic.
Establishing your investment time horizon for specific buckets of investment capital will allow you to benefit from “time in the market” and not succumb to the temptation of “timing the market”, ultimately helping you avoid costly mistakes and securing positive outcomes with confidence, no matter the market environment or price level.
Disclaimer
This information is for general and educational purposes only. You should not assume that any discussion or information contained herein serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Simon Quick Advisors & Co., LLC (“Simon Quick”) nor should this be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase an interest in a security or separate accounts of any type. Asset Allocation and diversifying asset classes may be used in an effort to manage risk and enhance returns. It does not, however, guarantee a profit or protect against loss. Investing in Liquid and Illiquid Alternative Investments may not be suitable for all investors and involves a high degree of risk. Many Alternative Investments are highly illiquid, meaning that you may not be able to sell your investment when you wish. Risk of Alternative Investments can vary based on the underlying strategies used.
Please remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by Simon Quick), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this newsletter will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing. Simon Quick is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the newsletter content should be construed as legal or accounting advice. If you are a Simon Quick client, please remember to contact Simon Quick, in writing, if there are any changes in your personal/financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations and/or services.
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Historical performance results for investment indices and/or categories have been provided for general comparison purposes only, and generally do not reflect the deduction of transaction and/or custodial charges, the deduction of an investment management fee, nor the impact of taxes, the incurrence of which would have the effect of decreasing historical performance results. It should not be assumed that your account holdings correspond directly to any comparative indices or benchmark index, as comparative indices or benchmark index may be more or less volatile than your account holdings. You cannot invest directly in an index.
Indices included in this report are for purposes of comparing your returns to the returns on a broad-based index of securities most comparable to the types of securities held in your account(s). Although your account(s) invest in securities that are generally similar in type to the related indices, the particular issuers, industry segments, geographic regions, and weighting of investments in your account do not necessarily track the index. The indices assume reinvestment of dividends and do not reflect deduction of any fees or expenses.
Please note: Indices are frequently updated and the returns on any given day may differ from those presented in this document. Index data and other information contained herein is supplied from various sources and is believed to be accurate but Simon Quick has not independently verified the accuracy of this information.
