The Thundering Word: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Investment Universe

Research evidence excerpt

The Thundering Word: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Investment Universe

Accessible version

The Thundering Word

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Investment

Universe

Primer

Wall Street Life, the Universe and Everything 28 May 2026

Our 2026 BofA primer on the size, returns, composition, flows, and valuations of the Investment Strategy

global bond & equity universe. Global

The 57 exhibits highlight the history of asset prices, the inexorable rise of global debt, Table of Contents

today’s K-shape economics, US dominance of bond & equity markets, the surge of tech

concentration within equity indices, contrasting sector drivers of regional stock markets, The asset universe & K-shape economics 2

themes attracting the biggest fund inflows, ETF winners & losers, and much more. The bond universe & leverage 4

The equity universe & concentration 6

Don’t Panic…18 must-know stats for investors: The macro backdrop in 2026 12

• $314tn: market value of all global bonds & stocks A short history of asset price returns 14

Equity, bond, commodity and currency returns 19

• 6.5x: size of Wall St (US asset prices) vs. Main St (US GDP), all-time high Flows, risks, crowds & valuations 26

• $348tn: total global debt, over 3x the value of global GDP

• 47%: rise in global government debt in past 6 years Michael Hartnett Investment Strategist

BofAS

• 3¼%: yield on 5-year Treasury must fall below to stabilize US debt interest costs +1 646 855 1508

michael.hartnett@bofa.com

• 44%: Bank of Japan owns close to half of all outstanding JGBs, up from 8% in ‘08 Anya Shelekhin

Investment Strategist

• 2020s: top performing assets…bitcoin (45% p.a.), gold (19%), US stocks (15%) BofAS +1 646 855 3753

anya.shelekhin@bofa.com

• 2020s: worst performing asset…30-year US Treasury (-54%: peak-to-trough)

Myung-Jee Jung