Consider the circumstances in 1972, when pension fund managers were still loading up on stocks: The Dow ended the year at 1020, had an average book value of 625, and earned 11% on book. Six years later, the Dow was 20% cheaper, its book value had gained nearly 40%, and it had earned 13% on book. Or as I wrote then, “Stocks were demonstrably cheaper in 1978 when pension fund managers wouldn’t buy them than they were in 1972, when they bought them at record rates.”
