It’s official: US stocks have had a wasted decade. The real return on the S&P 500 since 1998, after subtracting consumer price inflation, is just below zero. The last time this was true, according to Merrill Lynch, was in 1983.

Equities have been a terrible asset class over that period. Commodities had exciting returns, something everyone is now acutely conscious of, while bonds and cash at least beat inflation.