The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that one of the many financial oddities of 2023 was that you could earn a respectable return in your investment portfolio while taking on virtually no risk. The Globe's Rob Carrick writs that return on cash, as defined by the payout from T-bills and short-term corporate borrowing, was 5 per cent in late 2023, a recent TD Economics report says. The average return on cash following the 2008-09 global financial crisis was 0.8 per cent, while the average for 2020 to 2022 was 1.8 per cent. Historically, cash has been a trash asset class. Looking ahead, TD expects cash yields to fall to 4 per cent next year and 3 per cent in 2025. Cash returns in the ensuing years are expected to look better than they did in postfinancial crisis. Mr. Carrick says, however, that today's cash returns will begin a long-term fade in 2024. Broad stock market indexes in Canada and the United States are on their way to a strong 2023. When you are earning close to 5 per cent in cash with little or no price volatility, it is easy to shrug off good returns elsewhere. However, the appeal of cash fades as your returns sink below 4 per cent. Mr. Carrick advises a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds.