Stocks Face Long Road Back to Pre-Recession Heights
Neither, of course, would be desirable, the paper notes, so investors may just have to deal with a slower-than-desired market rebound.
The report points out some impressive numbers:
Despite a 47.5 percent rally since March, the Standard & Poor's 500 index is down $4.8 trillion in market value since October 2007. It would need a 57 percent gain to return to that level.
Among the hardest sectors hit are financials, which account for $1.4 trillion, or nearly a third, of the $4.8 trillion in total losses since October 2007.
Energy companies have also taken a beating, losing some $500 billion in market capitalization since the collapse of Lehman Brothers last year.
Now, those pre-recession levels may have been inflated to begin with, fed by an unsustainable housing bubble and debt-driven profits. But if the market is ever to return to those lofty heights, it will likely have to pace itself.