Great question – and really “the best” can only be defined relative to your overall objective.

⁣⁣For the purposes of this article we will keep things simple and talk purely about financial investments. ⁣⁣Specifically traditional paper assets (stocks and bonds) which form the backbone of the retirement planning of most individuals.

⁣⁣We’ll also define long term investment as over 10 years. This is the most common timeframe for retirement planning. ⁣⁣So let's look at the vehicle that the historical data would say has delivered the highest returns.

⁣⁣This would correspond to accelerating the date at which we can retire. ⁣⁣If retirement is defined as the point at which we start CHOOSING to work rather than feel obligated to… then the sooner we have this the better. ⁣⁣Hence the more we accelerate this the better.

⁣⁣The graph above is interesting because it shows the growth in value of various asset classes since the year 1926. ⁣⁣You can see world equities have been the asset that has spent the majority of the time at the top. ⁣⁣Of course there is no guarantee that this will always be the case. However we certainly want the data on our side when it comes to such decisions.

⁣⁣If you can take emotional factors out of your investing and have a long term timeframe this is useful to know. ⁣⁣Of course there are a few more factors to consider when it comes to designing a portfolio for your retirement.

⁣⁣But its a good place to start.