by Gary Alexander
June 2, 2026
We should stop fearing “another 1929” and pat ourselves on the back for surviving an even worse decade. As it turns out, the decade ending in 2008 – into early 2009 – was worse than the decline in the 1930s.
Specifically, a study by Ibbotson Associates in 2009 showed how the 1999-2008 decade was worse than any 10-year span in the 1930s. Ibbotson has kept price details on market performance over the last century, since 1926, obviously including the crash year of 1929 and the dismal 1930s, but in the 83-year period available then (1926 to 2009), the worst real (after inflation) performance before 2008 happened 1929 to 1938, with annual losses of –0.89% per year (-8.6% overall), while the 10-year loss at the end of 2008 delivered an annual decline of -1.4% per year (-13% for the decade) after inflation (in both cases).
What’s more, Ibbotson also analyzed each 120-month period, ending each month of each year for those 83 years. They found the last month of their study – February 28, 1999 to February 28, 2009 – delivered the worst 10-year market performance among the 880 monthly measurement periods since 1926.
Also, four of the worst 5 decade-long losses came around the end of 2008, going into 2009: