$30K to invest ...SMSF ..Ideas? 2 years to retirement., page-33

"But now we have computer trading, high-frequency trading............"

So, are you saying this time it will be different??? Just like for years I read that the commodities boom will never end like it did in the past because "this time is different" because of China and India.

You say, "what if that is completely wrong?"

Of course it could be completely wrong. It doesn't guarantee that history will repeat itself. But, for those interested in the history of the market, it is amazing how history has repeated. Incredible that the time and percentage drop have been VERY similar on 3 occasions throughout the 100 years.

The OP has a 2 year time frame of investing.. All I was doing was giving him a caveat in that if we use history as a guide, it MAY have further to fall and the "sweet spot" may be actually in 2018 0r 19 to get in if history was any sort of guide. Of course if you get in now you may get 2 years of gains before another decent drop or perhsps this is the start of it all as you say. But history suggests otherwise.

If the OP only has 2 years to retirement and has 30k, I think he or she needs to be aware of potential losses. In saying all of that, the market has dropped sufficiently in this period of time to be comfortable enough to invest with the expectation of growth in the next 2 years. ME??? I am happy to just keep investing as I have a much longer time frame and hope history does repeat itself because the next super bull market will finish close to my retirement