Few commentators understand the manner in which 2008 changed everything, and I mean EVERYTHING about the investing world. This was no mere Financial crisis or deflationary collapse… this was THE game changer, the event that altered the entire investing landscape so that virtually every and all relationships between various investment classes was thrown out the window.
For most of the 20th century, investments were categorized by very distinct levels of risk. Because the US was the largest, strongest economy in the world, (and had a printing press), US debt was considered the only truly “risk free” investment on the planet. The returns generated by lending your money to Uncle Sam was the golden standard by which all other investment classes were judged.
You could attain higher gains with stocks than these gains, but they came with greater perceived risk (of corporate default, mismanagement, or other issues). The s