Lessons Learned From the Financial Crisis
Perhaps the best advice to always follow is to rely on: common sense, patience, thrift, realistic expectations, and perseverance.
A 2013 Gallup Poll found respondents were more worried about another crisis occurring during their retirement than they were about running out of money or working in retirement. The table below shows how 12 different assets fared in the three months and five years after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008.
Cumulative Returns From September 15, 2008
Asset | 3 months after | 5 years after |
S&P 500 | -27% | 58% |
European Stocks | -29% | 26% |
Emerging Markets Stocks | -32% | 35% |
Apple Stock | -32% | 246% |
U.S. Med-Term T-Bonds | 7% | 26% |
U.S. Corp. High-Yield | -31% | 74% |
Home Prices | -7% | -1% |
Equity REITs | -43% | 40% |
Farmland | 7% | 82% |
Crude Oil (Brent) | -52% | 22% |
Gold | 7% | 70% |
Euro | -4% | -6% |