The following table provides information on the performance of small company stocks, large company stocks, and long-term government bonds for a market for the period of 1919-2019. The average rate of inflation for the same period is 3.5%. Discuss and compare the historical return distributions of each asset class. Would any of these investments cause a loss in purchasing power during the 1919-2019 holding period?

Return Measure Geometric Average Arithmetic Average Standard Deviation Small Large Companies Companies 11.60% 9.57% 17.43% 11.63% 37.75% 20.81% Long-term Government Bonds 5.37% 5.69% 8.24%