News about investment portfolios

Harry Browne's Permanent Portfolio, developed in the 1980s, splits holdings equally among stocks, long-dated bonds, gold and cash, rebalanced annually to aim for returns in all market conditions. A JustETF back-test using European ETFs from January 2007 to June 2026 shows a cumulative return of 234%, versus 434% for a 100% equity portfolio and 279% for a portfolio of 60% stocks and 40% bonds, but with volatility of just 6.3% compared with 8.6% and 13.5%. Its drawdown barely touched 5% in 2008, when equity markets lost nearly 50%, while its worst drawdown in two decades, just over 10%, came in 2022 as inflation surged and long bonds sold off. A UK version returned a compound annual growth rate of 5.8%, with long gilts down about 48% offset by a 132% rise in gold, and a weighted average cost of 0.17%.