The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that now may be the time to dial back risk and consider the boring. The Globe's Ian McGugan writes that it is often the humdrum plodders that wind up on top. To see how this plays out in practice, look at how one of the world's most boring investments and one of the world's most exciting investments have fared over the past five years. Mr. McGugan's candidate for the world's most boring investment is Vanguard Canada's Balanced ETF Portfolio, commonly referred to by its ticker symbol VBAL. It is a great fund, but it is also a total snooze. VBAL consists of a diversified basket of index funds that passively track stocks and bonds around the world. Its low-cost, balanced strategy makes VBAL a steady, dependable investment. However, nobody has ever talked it up at a dinner party or bragged to their pickle-ball buddies about how they are betting big on it. Bitcoin has gained a cumulative 31 per cent in Canadian dollar terms over the past five years. VBAL is up 46 per cent, assuming you reinvested your dividends. To be sure, the outcome of any comparison like this can change depending on exactly what period you measure. But at least for now, boring has edged out exciting.