If investors are patient and don't let nervousness get the better of them when prices fall or rise, stocks are the financial asset that offers the highest returns. Since 1900, shares in companies listed on the Spanish stock exchange have yielded an average of 2% more than bonds and long-term government debt, according to the study. Global investment returns yearbook 2026 (Global Investment Performance Yearbook 2026) published by the Swiss bank UBS in collaboration with Professor Paul Marsh and Dr. Mike Staunton (London Business School) and Professor Elroy Dimson (University of Cambridge) with data from 35 countries.

US 30-year Treasury bonds have soared their yield to above 5% (5.07%), the highest level in almost two decades. This trend—the movement between prices and yields is inverse, with lower prices leading to higher interest rates and higher prices leading to lower yields—means that money is fleeing these assets, meaning demand is falling, whereas until recently they were considered a safe haven in times of uncertainty. The US must pay more, that is, pay more, to raise funds to finance itself.