This long-term investor put together a diversified long-term plan in recognition of my ignorance of the future--ignorance from every standpoint, including future investment returns.

Bob,

I may have overstated my short-term stance. Buying stable and guaranteed returns are also long-term decisions. There's always: the "never lose" position that compounds all gains. When one is losing; even temporarily; the loss is also compounding. It's also keeping the portion that's losing from doing its job of compounding were it invested in a stable position. It's a double edged butter knife.

Sy