On a nominal basis, the Dow ETF is up about 10% the past three months during its rally to all-time highs. The fund has posted a five-year annualized return of 5.8%, according to Morningstar.
Still, that performance looks less impressive when inflation is accounted for, Wiener points out.
“Since the end of October 2007 inflation has risen about 10.5%,” he wrote. “If you adjust the Dow’s closing high on Oct. 7 2007 to today we’re still shy 9.8%. And if you were to go back to the high set on Jan. 14, 2000, the Dow’s close today is 12.3% shy of that record. So, I’d say we still have a long way to go before we can really say we’ve caught back up to prior highs.”
SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF