* Thank you, Ibbotson Associates, a Morningstar subsidiary.

* (Bonds also beat stocks for a 30-year period, 1979–2008, but that comparison isn’t quite fair. Bonds were reaching the end of a long, historic bull market in 2008, while stocks were suffering a near-historic crash. Still, it shows the value of holding bonds, even during years when stocks appear to be king.)

* The returns on these tables don’t match because the two firms use different methodologies. Towneley calculates 12-month periods from the start of every month. T. Rowe Price uses calendar years. But the investment conclusions are the same.