The peril of bonds

Long term bonds have beaten stocks for decades.

As reported by Rob Arnott (chairman of Research Affiliates), 20 year bonds have provided better returns than the S&P 500 starting any time from the 1979 through 2008.

That's a startling fact to many investors who've been told, ad nauseam, that stocks always do better than bonds over the long run.

This out-performance by bonds has not gone unnoticed by investors, who are selling stock mutual funds and buying bond funds.

Is it time to abandon stocks and buy bonds?

No.

You shouldn't drive your car by looking in the rear view mirror, and you shouldn't invest your money that way, either. The past can be a wonderful guide to the future, if and only if situations are sufficiently similar.

But, the situation over the next 30 years is highly unlikely to be the same as it was over the last 30 years.

For starters, inflation was in double digits 30 years ago. When inflation is high, bonds sell at super-cheap prices. When high inflation is tackled, as it was by Paul Volcker in the 1980's, and continues to decline for another 20 years, as it did, then bonds have remarkable performance.

That is not the situation today. In fact, reported inflation is at an all time low, showing its first annual decline since the mid 1950's. Bond yields reflect this low inflation with record low yields.

Bonds will not perform as they did over the last 30 years because inflation isn't starting high and going to record lows. Count on it.

In addition, the threat of growing inflation is as high now as it was the last time bond rates were this low, in the 1960's.

At that point in time, government spending was going through the roof to fund new social programs like Medicare and to fight an on-going war in Vietnam. If that sounds familiar to you, it should.

The U.S. government is running record high deficits as a percentage of the economy in an attempt to jump start an economic recovery, fight on-going wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, fund social programs like universal health care, and reduce carbon emissions to prevent global warming. If you think that won't sooner or later lead to high inflation, I've got a few bridges I'd like to sell you.

Just because long bonds have done well in the past doesn't mean they will do well in the future. If deflation continues for some time, as many smart people think it will, long bonds will do well. But, I believe that situation will only be temporary.

When inflation kicks up, as I think it will, long bonds will be gutted.

Stocks may not do well in the short run, but they offer excellent long term protection against inflation. Stocks are also selling at historically low prices relative to bonds. Bonds are now priced for perfection (low or declining inflation) whereas stocks are priced for a sustained recession.

Stocks may under-perform bonds over the short run, but over the long run, I don't think its even a contest--stocks will almost certainly out-perform over the long run.

Nothing in this blog should be considered investment, financial, tax, or legal advice. The opinions, estimates and projections contained herein are subject to change without notice. Information throughout this blog has been obtained from sources believed to be accurate and reliable, but such accuracy cannot be guaranteed.