With the S&P 500 breaking 1,600 for the first time ever last week and finally getting above those pesky 2007 highs, we decided to look at just how well everything else has done in comparison since all was well before the financial collapse, and see if any other asset classes are back above their 2007 (nominal) highs. You can see the S&P (price only) middling along there about the exact same as Real Estate, just pushing back above the 1000 line.

Disclaimer: past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.
Managed Futures = Newedge CTA Index, Bonds = Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND)
Hedge Funds = DJCS Core Hedge Fund Index Commodities = iShares GSCI ETF (GSG)
Real Estate = iShares DJ Real Estate ETF (IYR) World Stocks = MCSI World Index (ex USA)
US Stocks = S&P 500

The big winner since the last time stocks were at these levels: you guessed it, BONDS. You know, the bonds that people say are getting bubbly. Hedge Funds and Managed Futures also look quite good in relation to stocks since 2007, although they’ve had their problems underperforming stocks in the past few years. Now, some are pointing out that the S&P is still down significantly in inflation-adjusted terms  from the 2000 high (much less the 2007 high), but when comparing all the asset classes to each other – the real vs nominal game doesn’t apply. We would simply shift all the curves lower to adjust for inflation, and the S&P would still be middle of the pack.

It’s also quite a thing to take a step back and remember that huge spike in commodity prices,  and the fact that they peaked much later than stocks did.  We’ll see what happens over the next six years, but in the meantime – this is a good reminder that it is a marathon, not a sprint. And the fastest one around the track this past year or two or three may still be lagging others in the overall race.