Has Cash Been King for the Past 10 Years?
If you're like most investors, you've been nearly brainwashed with conventional market "wisdom" that stocks are the best way to grow your portfolio.
You would be crazy not to have your money in the markets, right?
A 30-year downtrend in savings rates ended at minus in August 2005. In May 2008, the savings rate skyrocketed to . This jolt may be somewhat overstated due to the arrival of the government's stimulus checks, but the burst should be the start of a critical new mindset among consumers. When the government showered the economy with checks, many did something they never would have thought of through most of the bull market: They put the money in the bank, which is exactly what the administration did not want. In fact, federal, state and local governments are desperate for the tax revenue that a little ripple-effect spending would have generated.