A the time of investment many people get confused. For achieving long term objectives there is need of friendly investment advice that will help you build a well diversified portfolio.
Know the type of market you're in -- secular bear or bull -- then act accordingly. Both types of markets end badly; bull markets end with a spectacular crash while the bear is a grind toward single digit p/e ratios. That is just a start. Human behavior is repetitive and predictable.
Forget indexing altogether. A long-term timing/momentum strategy beats indexing quite easily on a risk-adjuted (and even absolute return) basis: http://www.mebanefaber.com/timing-model/ (and his basic strategy/asset classes are just the tip of the iceburg) I'm surprised that no one has pointed this out on a "trading" site.
Did comment on the Ivy Port, 10 and 15 year forward returns -- no one commented cuz Maff is hawd work. Ivy Port appears to underperform in secular bulls but does well in the sec bear. He has a paper showing returns by decade on his site. I'm surprised no one said: "Vote republican or those damn dirty socialist democrats will ruin the economy, ruin the stock market and ruin 'merica!"
Maybe... But here's another investment advice: "Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's property [nor his margin trading/investing account]"