April 2014 April 2014 | Page 14

Jill on Money: By Jill Schlesinger The anniversary of the bear market March 9, 2014 marked the five-year anniversary of the stock market’s closing low. That trading day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 6547, its lowest level since April 15, 1997; the S&P 500 was at 676, its lowest level since Sept 12, 1996; and the NASDAQ was at 1268, its lowest level since Oct 9, 2002. Since then, U.S. markets have charged higher. Through the end of February, the S&P 500 has shot up 175 percent and including dividends, returns have more than tripled since the bear market low. For the first few YX\