Should You Invest Now or Wait Until 2027? Here's What a Century of History Says.

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) last hit a closing record high on Oct. 6. Since then, it lost 4.4% in a single day and was as much as 6% below its all-time high. Even now, the index is roughly 3% below its October peak.

Volatility has picked up, investors have been rotating into non-tech equities, and there are certainly some potential vulnerabilities in the U.S. stock market heading into 2027. It would be understandable if someone were compelled to sit on the sidelines and wait for some of the signals to clear. But history says that investors who wait tend to come out behind.

Time in the market beats market timing

Over the past century, the S&P 500 has returned around 10% annually. That number includes every recession, bear market, and major economic event along the way. The key, however, is remaining invested throughout these periods.

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Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) did a study recently about hypothetical investors who invested their money regularly along with folks who invested at market tops and bottoms. It found that people who invested entirely at the beginning of every calendar or monthly throughout the year actually didn't outperform a person who had perfect market timing (which, of course, is impossible). Even the person who invested at the market top every year still produced solid returns over the long term.

The only person who really fell behind was the one who consistently sat on the sidelines.

The lesson is that even if you consistently invest at the worst possible time, being in the market is still better than being out of it over the long term.

Record highs aren't warnings

JPMorgan Asset Management (NYSE: JPM) did a study of forward-looking returns when investing at all-time highs versus all other days. It turns out that investing at all-time highs was actually better for long-term returns than when the market was below them.

This sounds counterintuitive. A lot of people think that upside is somehow limited when the S&P 500 is at record highs. But stocks are usually at record highs for a reason. Companies and the economy are likely performing well, and that often helps drive future returns.

Putting your cash to work before 2027

The biggest takeaway is that no one knows how the stock market is going to perform at any given time. So there's little point in trying to predict it by market timing.

The goal of long-term investing is to slowly accumulate wealth over time. The best path for that is to simply invest regularly and consistently. Don't worry about investing at the "right" time. Just focus on investing, period.

Sometimes you'll buy at highs. Sometimes you'll buy at lows. But you'll be invested at all times, and that ends up being the biggest key to success of them all.

JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Charles Schwab is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. David Dierking has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends JPMorgan Chase. The Motley Fool recommends Charles Schwab and recommends the following options: short September 2026 $95 calls on Charles Schwab. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.