Brazilian Stocks Can’t Compete With 176% Return for Bonds: Chart

While Brazil’s domestic notes have returned 176 percent since mid-2007, the Ibovespa stock index fell 6 percent in the same period. That may help explain why Brazilians rely so little on the equity market when planning for retirement: Only 18 percent of assets in company-sponsored pension funds are in stocks, according to an industry report. In the U.S., average equity allocation is 53 percent, according to a survey of retirement savers by Fidelity Investments.

--With assistance from Filipe Pacheco To contact the reporter on this story: Ney Hayashi in Sao Paulo at ncruz4@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Walsh at bwalsh8@bloomberg.net.