1920s / 1930s / 1940s / 1950s / 1960s / 1970s / 1980s / 1990s / 2000s

In 1940, much of the world was at war. As the US economy shifted to war-time production, there were wide fluctuations in business activity and securities markets.
 
During this time, the management of Tri-Continental maintained a diversified portfolio of sound companies with adequate income and, most important, remained committed to a long-term approach to investing. At the same time, Union Service Corporation was organized to take over the investment, research, and administrative services of Tri-Continental, and to provide such services to Tri-Continental, and to the funds previously served by the Corporation, under a joint, cost-sharing arrangement. Prior to this arrangement, Tri-Continental's staff had provided the investment research and administrative functions to the other investment companies managed by J. & W. Seligman & Co. on a fee basis. This arrangement had worked very well, but as the investment companies grew in size, the fairness of having one company pay fees to another came into question. As a result, the concept of mutual ownership and mutual sharing made it possible for Tri-Continental to continue to benefit from the country's largest and best-trained professional investment organization.
 
By the time the United States declared war, the prices of common stocks had fallen considerably, with the DJIA declining 6.5% between December 6 (the day before the attack on Pearl Harbor) and December 10. At year-end 1941, Tri-Continental's net asset value stood at only seven cents per share.
 
Nonetheless, the wisdom of taking a long-term view was demonstrated in the years that followed. By the time World War II ended in 1945, the Corporation's net asset value had risen to $13.07 per share. Management's investment focus on the long-term, post-war outlook and its inclusion in the portfolio of smaller companies with unusual investment opportunities provided handsome returns for Tri-Continental's Stockholders.
 
Once the US began to adjust to peace-time activity, common stocks again declined. Political uncertainty in Europe and fears of a business recession caused investors to maintain a conservative appraisal of earnings and dividends. By the end of the decade, however, common stock prices again rose sharply, and Tri-Continental's net asset value followed suit, as the portfolio had been fully invested for most of the period.