That's why you might want to perpetually hold something simple like the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: GLD) in your portfolio, since you often don't know when you'll want or need it until it's too late to buy it at an advantageous price. Conversely, there's roughly a 70% chance the technology sector will outperform the overall market when inflation is falling, or in deflationary environments, confirming the premise. These statistics tend to hold up about the same no matter how strong or weak the economy is at the time, underscoring the validity of the data's interpretation.