Plenty of new investors say, "I want to buy a S&P 500 index because US stocks earn the best returns." When I first began to invest, in 1989, nobody thought US stocks were a hot ticket. In fact, a different country's stock market beat US stocks over the previous 40 years, like a heavyweight boxing champion battering a flyweight. This story explains what that stock market was, providing two important themes: always globally diversify and if you're serious about earning long-term lifetime money, avoid speculation.

Click below to read the rest of my AssetBuilder article.

When Speculation Crashes
Will Ferguson doesn’t remember saying it. The Canadian English teacher was living in Japan and drunk at an after-work party. But his colleagues remembered what he said, and several weeks later, they continued to bring it up.In Japan, the cherry blossoms bloom first in the south, and they remain so …