BESSEMBINDER 2026 · 1926—2025 — Decade Buy-and-Hold Returns: The Secular Decline in Median Outcomes
Decade Wealth Contribution — Concentration of net wealth creation driven by the single largest wealth-generating corporate champions in each decade since 1926.
The plate
Holding all listed stocks for ten years from each decade start: median ten-year returns averaged 63.6% over the first six decades but slowed to 5.8% over the last four, while the share outperforming the market remained steady near one-third.
What this page answers
This static page is built to answer searches for BESSEMBINDER 2026 · 1926—2025. It summarizes the live dataset behind the Decade Buy-and-Hold Returns: The Secular Decline in Median Outcomes panel and links to the full interactive chart.
Holding all listed stocks for ten years from each decade start: median ten-year returns averaged 63.6% over the first six decades but slowed to 5.8% over the last four, while the share outperforming the market remained steady near one-third. The data is refreshed by the History of Market pipeline and published as a stable JSON endpoint for research, citation, and AI-agent use.
Data & Source
GET /api/static/bessembinder-2026.json — Canonical dataset endpoint.
Exchange closing prices · Company filings · Robert Shiller · FRED · NBER.
FAQ
Where does this data come from?
History of Market combines public market and macro datasets — exchange closing prices, company filings, Robert Shiller, FRED, NBER, and the UBS Global Investment Returns Yearbook (Dimson–Marsh–Staunton). The exact endpoint for this panel is linked below.
How often is it updated?
Daily-tier datasets refresh after the U.S. market close, with a broader weekly refresh on Sunday. The timestamp shown on this page comes from the JSON payload.
Can I use the data?
Yes, for research and education with attribution to History of Market. Upstream data sources retain their own terms.