A study by the London School of Business has concluded that the FTSE 100 is set to double and reach an all time high in 2013. However, the market will not recover smoothly and there could well be set backs.
Historically, market comebacks have varied. It took investors two years to recoup losses after the 1987 crash, while the US stocks took 20 years to rise over their pre-crash levels of 1929.
The academics have studied world wide long term market trends and have confirmed that although the 21st century has seen one of the worst markets, the overriding message is to ride out the storm and battle through the current lows for eventual long term gains.
They added that investors should take a long term view and expect occasional setbacks.
See our feature on why saving in a falling equity markets can be a good thing.