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EAA (Elastic Asset Allocation)

EAA (Elastic Asset Allocation) is a tactical asset allocation strategy reviewed on a monthly cadence. Its hypothetical backtest runs through 2026-08-19. BestFolio supplies the public rule or approach and backtest context; current signals, allocations, and paid interactive data remain restricted to Pro access. The recorded 2014-12-30 publication or construction boundary separates pre-publication simulation from later market observations under fixed rules; all returns remain hypothetical. Users review each scheduled signal and place any resulting trades in their own brokerage. BestFolio does not execute trades or provide personalized investment advice.

Cadence
Monthly
Backtest data through
2026-08-19
History boundary
The recorded 2014-12-30 publication or construction boundary separates pre-publication simulation from later market observations under fixed rules; all returns remain hypothetical.
Rule / approach
1. Calculate 12-month return, correlation to equal-weight portfolio, and volatility for all 10 assets 2. Filter to assets with positive 12-month return (n eligible out of N=10) 3. Cash fraction = 1 - n/N (allocated to BIL) 4. Score…
BestFolio supplies
the public rule or approach and backtest context; current signals, allocations, and paid interactive data remain restricted to Pro access
Customer action
Review each scheduled signal and place any required trades in your own brokerage; BestFolio does not execute orders.
Costs and exclusions
net of a modeled one-way transaction cost (10 bps, scaled up to 3x under stress); taxes, fund-expense drift, or market impact are not modeled
Freshness
The latest available backtest ends 2026-08-19. A run timestamp is not exposed here, so no stronger freshness claim is made.
Next expected action
First trading day of September; scheduled 2026-09-01 at 09:30 ET. Review the published signal before placing any trade.

EAA (Elastic Asset Allocation) at a glance

EAA (Elastic Asset Allocation) is a tactical asset allocation (TAA) strategy by Keller & Butler across US Equity, International Equity, Emerging Markets, REITs, rebalanced monthly. Backtested 1982-03-31 to 2026-08-19 (44.3 years): 9.7% CAGR, 1.00 Sharpe, -17.2% max drawdown, 8.9% volatility.

Type
Tactical (TAA)
Author
Keller & Butler
Rebalancing
Monthly
Risk
Moderate
Period
1982-03-31 to 2026-08-19
CAGR
9.7%
Sharpe
1.00
Max Drawdown
-17.2%
Volatility
8.9%

EAA (Elastic Asset Allocation) Tactical Asset Allocation Strategy

Elastic Asset Allocation (EAA) was published by Wouter Keller and Adam Butler in 2014. It is a momentum strategy with an innovative 'elastic' cash mechanism that dynamically adjusts the portfolio's cash allocation based on how many assets in the universe have positive momentum.

The cash fraction is calculated as cf = 1 - n/N, where n is the number of assets with positive 12-month returns and N is the total universe size. When all 10 assets have positive momentum, cash is 0%; when only half do, cash is 50%; when none do, the portfolio is 100% in cash (BIL).

EAA (Elastic Asset Allocation): frequently asked questions

What is Elastic Asset Allocation?
Multi-factor scoring combining return, low correlation, and low volatility. Cash fraction scales elastically with the number of assets showing negative momentum. Selects top 3 assets by composite score. Monthly rebalancing.
Who created the EAA (Elastic Asset Allocation) strategy?
EAA (Elastic Asset Allocation) was developed by Keller & Butler. It is based on Keller, W.J. & Butler, A. (2014). Elastic Asset Allocation (EAA).
What is the historical return and maximum drawdown of EAA (Elastic Asset Allocation)?
Backtested from 1982-03-31 to 2026-08-19, EAA (Elastic Asset Allocation) returned 9.7% CAGR with a -17.2% maximum drawdown and a Sharpe ratio of 1.00. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
How often is EAA (Elastic Asset Allocation) rebalanced?
EAA (Elastic Asset Allocation) is rebalanced monthly. BestFolio publishes the updated allocation signal each period.
Is EAA (Elastic Asset Allocation) a tactical asset allocation strategy?
Yes. EAA (Elastic Asset Allocation) is a tactical asset allocation (TAA) strategy: it adjusts its holdings based on market signals each period rather than holding a fixed allocation.

Backtest Performance (1982-03-31 to 2026-08-19)

MetricEAA (Elastic Asset Allocation)
CAGR9.7%
Max Drawdown-17.2%
Sharpe1.00
Sortino1.38
Volatility8.9%
Calmar0.57
Total Return5925.6%
Backtest Period44.3 years

Strategy Details

Type
Tactical (TAA)
Rebalancing
monthly
Risk Level
moderate
Variants
2
Author
Keller & Butler
Source
Keller, W.J. & Butler, A. (2014). Elastic Asset Allocation (EAA)

Asset Classes

  • US Equity
  • International Equity
  • Emerging Markets
  • REITs
  • Commodities
  • Gold
  • Bonds
  • Corporate Bonds
  • High Yield Bonds
  • T-Bills

Further reading

New to this approach? Read what tactical asset allocation is and how it works.

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