Chart Stories

Insights that go beyond the numbers. Use these charts to power your storytelling
and help clients make better investment decisions.

Most popular charts

Bull markets have been much longer and stronger than bears

An area chart showing the cumulative S&P 500 price return of all U.S. bull and bear markets since 1949. The average bull market had a 265% total return and a duration of 67 months. The average bear market had a –33% total return and a duration of 12 months.
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After large declines, stocks can recover quickly

A bar chart showing the five largest U.S. stock market (S&P 500) declines and the subsequent recovery 1-year and 2-years after bottoming.
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Timing the market can be costly

A bar chart showing S&P 500 returns from 2016 to 2025, comparing being fully invested for the entire period to missing the best market days. Missing the top 10 days cuts the value nearly in half; missing 20, 30, and 40 days reduces it to roughly 40%, 30%, and 20% of the fully invested value.
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Fed interest rate cuts can be good for stocks and bonds

Two vertical bar charts compare average annualized returns across U.S. stocks, international stocks, U.S. bonds, and cash during the last seven Federal Reserve interest rate cutting cycles. One chart represents non-recessionary cutting cycles, the other recessionary cutting cycles. Returns are notably higher in non-recessionary periods: 27.9% for U.S. stocks, 27.5% for international stocks, 16.7% for U.S. bonds, and 6.2% for cash. In contrast, recessionary cycles show lower or negative returns: -3.5% for U.S. stocks, -9.4% for international stocks, 9.8% for U.S. bonds, and 3.7% for cash.
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Midterms: expect choppy markets followed by late-year rally

A line chart compares average S&P 500 year‑to‑date returns in midterm election years versus all other years from January through December, beginning in 1931. The "all other years" line trends steadily higher throughout the year, while the midterm‑year line hovers between +1% and negative 2% until late in the year, before rising in November and December.
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Stocks have trended higher regardless of which party was in office

An area chart illustrating how a hypothetical $1,000 investment made on March 4, 1933 grew steadily through December 31, 2025, reaching a value of $31.7 million. The visualization highlights long‑term market resilience across political administrations and periods of volatility.
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Investors have underestimated the long-term impact of new tech

An infographic compares initial forecasts with actual adoption for the PC, internet, mobile, and cloud technology revolutions. In every case, forecasts underestimated adoption, by an average of 38%.
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AI spending has surpassed the dot-com mania

A line chart which shows U.S. technology and R&D spending as a percentage of GDP from 1995 to 2025. In 2020, spending surpassed the dot-com peak of 6.5% and has since grown to 7.5%, driven by increased investment in generative AI.
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U.S. and international stocks take turns leading

A combined line chart and shaded area chart showing the rolling 5-year monthly relative returns of the S&P 500 index versus the MSCI EAFE index and the US dollar index from January 1976 to December 2025. The chart highlights that periods of international outperformance usually coincided with a weaker dollar.
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