Starting in 1998 if an American family had socked away $100 a month for retirement or savings, which investment strategy would have produced the best returns as of now left you better off as of now—stocks, bonds, a balanced portfolio, or simply stuffing the cash under a mattress? As this short video from the Economist shows, Sealy and Serta beat out equities and ETFs in the end. While this type of analysis is fun, it obviously overlook the power of compounding as well as the corrosive effects of inflation. Even so, this simple clip sums up the gargantuan task the financial planning industry is going to face as it tries to win back peoples’ trust.
