Investors and policymakers have long hoped that Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) would provide an accurate measure of long-term market inflation expectations. To make informed decisions and to ensure that inflation does not erode the purchasing power of their assets, investors need...

Using historical data from 1926 to 2002, the article shows that for investors with very long horizons,(longer than 25 years), stocks were safer in the U.S. than government bonds. For investors with shorter horizons, both stocks and bonds were exposed to substantial risks, and stocks did not...