Unpredictability is one of Wall Street's few givens. When examined over short timelines, it can be virtually impossible to accurately predict directional moves in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S 500, and Nasdaq Composite. Over the previous four years, these three major stock indexes have oscillated between bear and bull markets in successive years.

But the beauty of putting your money to work on Wall Street is that it overwhelmingly favors the patient. Stocks have handily outpaced the annualized long-term returns of bonds, commodities, housing, and bank certificates of deposit (CDs). In other words, every notable downturn in the stock market has served as a buying opportunity for long-term-minded investors.

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Source Fool.com