[ztrww]

There were long periods were it barely beat inflation and some were it didn’t even do that.

e.g. it took 30 years to recover to 1929 levels, then also 30 years to reach the 1960’s peak, in 2010 it fell to mid 90’s levels (all inflation adjusted).

So yes, you’re right but it depends on how long you can wait. Over 50-60 years you should be fine. 20-30 who knows, if you’ve entered just before a peak it might not recover within your lifetime.