In October 2008, the world's financial markets crashed. Most institutional and individual financial advisors, particularly those who believed in diversifying risk through "asset allocation," saw their clients' portfolios drop by unimagined amounts. At least fourteen trillion dollars in equity (stock) valuation-not just a few hundred billion-was lost. Hard assets (particularly gold), other commodities, private equity investments, and fixed income-all of which were presumed "uncorrelated" or "lowly correlated" to equities-collapsed with the decline of stocks and real estate. With the exception of Treasury bonds, considered a deflation hedge, no asset class was spared. Clients-people like you and me-lost many nights of sleep wondering what happened and what to do next.