Depending on your investing timeline, Wall Street can be a pathway to financial dreams or a source of frustration. Over multiple decades, it's proved to be an unstoppable beast that, on an annualized basis, outperforms bonds, commodities, and bank certificates of deposit (CDs). But over the short-term, it's no more predictable than a coin flip.

The past couple of years has been a perfect example of Wall Street's unpredictability. In 2021, the storied Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI), benchmark S 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), and growth-driven Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC), all soared to all-time highs. This was followed up by all three indexes plummeting into a bear market last year.

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Source Fool.com