Historically, the stock market is the greatest creator of long-term wealth. Inclusive of dividend reinvestment, and when adjusted for inflation, it's returned an average of about 7% per year, working out to a historic doubling of wealth about once per decade. That means it's left all other asset classes eating its dust, including bank CDs, bonds, housing, and even popular safe-haven asset gold and its lustrous twin, silver. You'll often hear analysts suggest that investors keep their distance from these safe-haven assets, given that they fail to pay a dividend and have drastically underperformed the broader market. ... (full story)