I've been thinking about...
the cult of equities and the new reality
Category
Markets
Summary
Many investors saw their core beliefs turned upside down in 2008/09 as
bonds outpaced stocks over 10, 20, 30 and 40 year periods. Longer term
analysis shows other shockingly long spans in which stocks and bonds
have delivered the same return. Where's the 5% return premium that's our
birthright? How long do believers in "stocks for the long run" have to
wait? This is not to say stocks will underperform bonds over the next
10, 20, 30, or 40 years. But the "cult of equities" is dangerous. The
price always matters, and time cannot heal all blunders. Investors must
shake off their automatic reliance on equities by examining the many
out-of-mainstream fixed-income asset classes, some currently offering
the same 2.5% long-term historical risk premium of equities but with
more diversification and less volatility.