If We Had a Crystal Ball
There is an old adage in the investment business that we professionals "don't have a crystal ball." But what if we did? How would we invest if we knew precisely what would happen in the future? Suppose that our crystal ball had told us on December 31, 1999 that, for the next 11 1/2 years through July of 2011, the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) would rise at an average annual rate of 2.5%. Would we have expected the price of gold to rise by 465% while the inflation-adjusted S&P