However, I'm more than willing to step in and make the claim that the 'popularity' of index funds may very well be propelling individual stocks higher than they otherwise might be on their own merits. Once the individual stocks are given a 'free pass' and a wider than 'natural' market is sold on throwing money indiscriminately at equities - well, here we are. And there probably isn't much more upside, but what do I know?
Fortunately I don't need the returns that I received after 2009 to stay retired, especially now. Not that I wanted to retire anyway, but it was a fun challenge, to attain the ability to retire in my 30's. Now that I'm in my 40's, it is fun to watch what others are up to while I continue to enjoy my FI life. And, in a way, it might be interesting to see what happens if the S&P returns to the 600's, how American's behave. But otherwise, I doubt anything will surprise me... Even if robots entirely replace the manual labor workforce.