This revealing investment research tool is now available for free

Allan points readers to the Index Matrix, a research tool that used to cost money and is now free, which charts decades of stock and bond returns in colour-coded form so patterns jump off the page. The value is less about any single number and more about perspective: seeing how different asset classes performed across many years, including the stretches that were flat or negative, helps temper the expectations investors carry into their own plans. Long runs where one market disappointed while another quietly did well make the case for spreading money around rather than betting on recent winners. It is handy for do-it-yourself investors and anyone setting return assumptions or second-guessing their mix, offering a grounded, historical reality check that can steady the nerves when markets get noisy and headlines turn gloomy.