The Best-Performing Asset Classes

 The Best-Performing Asset Classes

If you’re like me, you’re wondering what the best investments are.

It’s easy to find a lot of opinion, but not a whole lot of hard facts.

Articles abound on websites like Forbes, CNBC, and even Morningstar—but they ended up confusing me. They compare only a couple asset classes, and they frequently refer to different timeframes. For example, they look at the past 10 years for the S&P 500, the past 7 years for value stocks, and the past 13 years for growth stocks.

How am I supposed to make sense of that gibberish? I’m not looking for a load of blather; I want facts! Comparable, unbiased, non-cherry-picked facts. Is that really so hard?

Apparently, it is!...

I’ve had to do a lot of research to find some reliable numbers that can be compared. I got a great start with Paul Merriman’s excellent website, especially this set of charts [PDF].

While Merriman’s data was very helpful, I wanted data on more asset classes than the ones provided on that set of charts. I want all the asset classes!

How else are you supposed to make an informed decision?...

Froogal Stoodent vs. Vanguard

The Froogal Stoodent Takes On Vanguard

In my constant search for better, easier, more profitable ways to invest, I've run into a fact that disturbs me more and more as I continue to think about it: most total stock market indices, such as Vanguard's VTSAX, are market-cap weighted.

What does that even mean?

Well, it means that a greater proportion of every investment dollar goes to the largest companies in the market. 

At first glance, you'd think, "More of my money is going to the Apples and Googles and Microsofts of the investment world. Isn't that a good thing?"

Maybe.

But maybe not.