The income edge in the stock market

I HAVE a simple rule about investing. I put any cash that I don't need for at least the next five years into the stock market. I don't pay too much attention to pundits who warn about markets being dizzyingly-high or worryingly-low that could drop further. That's because over any rolling five years, the stock market should be higher at the end of the period than at the beginning.

Don't just take my word for it. If you look at the Straits Times Index at any point in time and go back five years, there is a 40 per cent chance that the index would have been lower. That might not seem too alluring. But that's because dividends haven't been accounted for, yet. When the payouts are included, the probability that the investment would be worth more after any rolling five years jumps to 83 per cent.

Is 10 years an eternity?