After the last market crash in 2000, many people left the stock market for good or at least they thought they wouldn't be back. But the return of the bull market in October 2002, and the subsequent years of steady gains, which included 100% gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and more than that for the Nasdaq, tempted many to return over time.

Now as the market corrected some 50% over the last 12 months, many are reminded of a similar correction that drove them out a mere 8 years ago.

We often hear from market pundits including Jim Cramer, that stocks have outperformed all asset classes over the last 50 years. I wonder if this still holds true after two heavy corrections in less than a decade.

-- Faisal Laljee