Unless you are comfortable with the possibility of a 50-70% loss, I would not put any money into the market that I NEEDED in 3-5 years. If you will need the money in that timeframe, stick with bonds, CD's, money markets, etc.
What kind of interest rate could one reasonably expect for those 3-5 years? What if the market took a major, major dump? What's the worst case loss vs. if a guy was in something more aggressive?
