Ahead of SPY at 17 of 60 month-ends.
Same starting value · dividends reinvested
Selected allocation CAGR +6.2%
SPY CAGR +12.0%
Shaded: major market crises Bear Market (2022)
Harry Browne Permanent Portfolio
4 ETFs · Gold · U.S. short-term Treasuries · U.S. large cap
View holdings
Gold · U.S. short-term Treasuries · U.S. large cap · U.S. long-term Treasuries
Where this allocation comes from
Harry Browne · Fail-Safe Investing · 1999
Also known as: Permanent Portfolio
Stocks, long-term Treasuries, gold and cash at 25% each, so that one asset holds up in any economic regime.
| Asset in the source | Weight | Lifolio ETF |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 25% | SPY |
| US long-term Treasuries | 25% | TLT |
| Gold | 25% | GLD |
| Cash (US Treasury bills) | 25% | SHV |
Browne held the cash quarter in Treasury bills. Lifolio uses SHV (Treasuries maturing within a year), so history starts in January 2007.
The source rebalances once a year. Figures on this page use Lifolio's standard monthly rebalancing.
Source: portfoliocharts.com en.wikipedia.org
Lifolio is not affiliated with or endorsed by the people or organizations cited. Figures are historical simulations under Lifolio's standard conditions. Sources checked 2026-11-01.
- $10,000 lump sum
- Monthly rebalancing
- Dividends reinvested
- Benchmark: SPY
- No taxes or fees
- $10,000 became
- $13,517 SPY alone: $17,597 −$4,080 vs SPY
- Annual return
- +6.2% SPY +12.0% -5.8pp vs SPY
- Max drawdown (month-end)
- -16.2% SPY -23.9% +7.7pp vs SPY Regained 18 mo after the low
- Below the high at period end
- -5.5% 2026-10
Key points for this allocation
- By asset class: bonds 50% · commodities 25% · equities 25%.
- Its dividend yield over the last 12 months was 2.4%; the results reinvest dividends.
- During the Bear Market (2022) it returned -13.9%, while SPY returned -19.7%.
Overview ⌄
Compare allocations
The same holdings at different splits. Pick a row to update everything below.
Exploration on Lifolio; these counts do not establish investment performance or preference.
Growth
Starting from $10,000, shown with SPY over the same window. Shaded bands mark major market crises.
Declines and recoveries
Month-end decline from the previous high. Closer to 0% means a smaller fall.
The deepest fall was -16.2%, regained 18 months after the low.
Values below 0% are loss periods
Calendar-year returns
Only years with all twelve months. The table also lists the deepest fall within each year (the in-year low).
Of 4 complete years: 1 with a loss, 2 ahead of SPY.
Show as a table
| Year | Selected allocation | SPY | In-year low |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | +20.8% | +17.7% | 0.0% |
| 2024 | +11.6% | +24.9% | -2.4% |
| 2023 | +11.8% | +26.2% | -5.6% |
| 2022 | -12.7% | -18.2% | -16.2% |
Depending on when you bought
Every month in the window taken as a start, held one, three or five years.
Observed windows overlap and are not independent samples. These shares are not probabilities of future gains.
Holdings
Holdings of the selected split and what each one is.
- GLDSPDR Gold Shares 25%
An investment product providing exposure to gold prices.
- SHViShares 0–1 Year Treasury Bond ETF 25%
An ETF investing in short-term U.S. Treasury securities.
- SPYState Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust 25%
A U.S. large-cap equity ETF tracking the S&P 500 Index.
- TLTiShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF 25%
An ETF investing in U.S. Treasury bonds with maturities over 20 years.
Questions & methodology
Review calculation settings and how to interpret the selected allocation.
What does the Harry Browne Permanent Portfolio hold?
SPDR Gold Shares (GLD): An investment product providing exposure to gold prices. iShares 0–1 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHV): An ETF investing in short-term U.S. Treasury securities. State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY): A U.S. large-cap equity ETF tracking the S&P 500 Index. iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT): An ETF investing in U.S. Treasury bonds with maturities over 20 years.
What were the return and risk of the Harry Browne Permanent Portfolio?
From 2021-10-29 to 2026-10-30, the annualized return was +6.2%, maximum drawdown was -16.2%, and Sharpe ratio was 0.29.
How did it compare with holding SPY alone?
From 2021-10-29 to 2026-10-30, the annual return was +6.2% for this split and +12.0% for SPY. Over the same window the maximum drawdown was -16.2% for this split and -23.9% for SPY.
How far did the Harry Browne Permanent Portfolio fall, and how long did it take to get back?
Over the selected 5 years, the largest month-end decline was -16.2%, from a high in 2021-12 to a low in 2022-09. It regained the old high 18 months after the low.
How many losing years did the Harry Browne Permanent Portfolio have?
1 of 4 complete calendar years ended with a loss. The worst was 2022 (-12.7%).
Are dividends, taxes and exchange rates included?
Dividends are reinvested and results are in USD. Taxes, currency moves against your home currency and trading fees are not included. These results use US-listed ETFs; Korea-listed ETFs such as KODEX and TIGER can be added in the backtest.
The server calculates portfolio examples and actual user allocations with the same period, starting balance and settings. Validated metrics and their supporting charts are shown together.
Price data through: 2026-10-30