By Ben Carlson
A Wealth of Common Sense
No one knows what the exact returns will be like over the next 95 days or 95 years for stocks, bonds,or cash. There are a lot of variables we simply cannot predict.
These were the returns for each asset class in 2022:
- Stocks: -18.0%
- Bonds: -17.8%
- Cash: +4.4%
Cash beat stocks and bonds for the first time since 2018 and had its highest return since 2007.
Stocks and bonds have had higher long-term returns than cash, but it’s not out of the ordinary for cash to be the best asset class in a one year time frame.
By my count, it’s happened 14 times over the past 95 years. So relatively rare, but not out of the question. Before 2018, the last time it happened was in 1994.
Bonds have beaten stocks 35 times in a calendar year since 1928. Cash has beaten stocks in 31 out of the past 95 years.
So while stocks are your best bet over the long run, over the short run anything can happen.
