Assuming that financial reforms continue to be implemented in emerging countries, forecasts and estimates are developed that show aggregate amounts of financial assets that can exist in the future. A scenario is presented in which world financial assets reach $700 trillion. This includes...

The gap between wealthy and poor is widening, in part due to the epochal rise in the value of financial assets. Middle‐class savers channel their monthly contributions into mutual funds, which in turn invest the money in stocks and bonds. These accounts then accumulate, and the gains are...