Thanks to Ibbotson Associates, a Morningstar company, we have reliable data on the historical returns of several major asset classes dating back to 1926.

Going back that far covers the Great Depression as well as numerous bull and bear markets, the stock market crash of 1987, the Great Recession of 2007 - 2009, and the ensuing bull market that is still in place today.

In today's show, we discuss financial market history and the lessons we can learn from studying the historical returns of common types of investments. Even though past performance is no guarantee of future results, having a good understanding of the past helps give us perspective to what's happening today.

And speaking of what's happening today, the stock market is off to a rough start in 2016. Concerns about declines in corporate earnings, slowing growth in China, volatile oil prices, and potential increases in interest rates have all been weighing on the markets. Today's show is particularly timely because we take a long-term perspective and show how short-term noise (like we're experiencing today) is often necessary to set the stage for longer-term growth.

Join us as we learn how to benefit from history so we don't keep repeating costly investment mistakes.