i'll expand more on this in future posts, but turns out the U.S. public stocks have been terrible investments for the last 15 years and I expect they will be for the next 15 years.
Check out the rise and fall of the S&P 500.
If you just take the last ten years (starting from a really low point in right after 9/11), S&P has only gained 8.32%. whoa. A random bond fund would have gained at least half of that in any given year during those ten years.
My advice (and will expand more in future posts): keep a really low percentage of your investments in public stocks.