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GTAA (Global Tactical Asset Allocation)

GTAA (Global Tactical 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 2006 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 2006 publication or construction boundary separates pre-publication simulation from later market observations under fixed rules; all returns remain hypothetical.
Rule / approach
1. GTAA-5: Equal-weight 5 assets (SPY, EFA, VNQ, IEF, DBC) at 20% each 2. For each asset: if price > 200-day SMA → hold; else → that 20% goes to cash (BIL) 3. GTAA-AGG variant: rank 13-asset universe by average 1/3/6/12-month returns…
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.

GTAA (Global Tactical Asset Allocation) at a glance

GTAA (Global Tactical Asset Allocation) is a tactical asset allocation (TAA) strategy by Meb Faber across US Equity, International Equity, REITs, US Treasuries, rebalanced monthly. Backtested 1986-02-28 to 2026-08-19 (40.3 years): 7.5% CAGR, 1.18 Sharpe, -16.8% max drawdown, 7.0% volatility.

Type
Tactical (TAA)
Author
Meb Faber
Rebalancing
Monthly
Risk
Moderate
Period
1986-02-28 to 2026-08-19
CAGR
7.5%
Sharpe
1.18
Max Drawdown
-16.8%
Volatility
7.0%

GTAA (Global Tactical Asset Allocation) Tactical Asset Allocation Strategy

Global Tactical Asset Allocation (GTAA) by Meb Faber is a trend-following strategy that applies a simple moving average filter across multiple asset classes. In its base form (GTAA-5), five asset classes are held at equal weight (20% each), but any asset trading below its 200-day SMA has its allocation moved to cash (BIL). The AGG3 variant expands to a 13-asset universe, ranks assets by average multi-period momentum (1/3/6/12-month returns), selects the top 3, and then applies the same SMA trend filter.

GTAA (Global Tactical Asset Allocation): frequently asked questions

What is Global Tactical Asset Allocation?
Trend-following across five major asset classes (US stocks, intl stocks, REITs, bonds, commodities). Each asset held only when above its 10-month SMA; below-trend slices move to cash. Equal-weighted. Monthly rebalancing.
Who created the GTAA (Global Tactical Asset Allocation) strategy?
GTAA (Global Tactical Asset Allocation) was developed by Meb Faber. It is based on Faber, M. (2006). A Quantitative Approach to Tactical Asset Allocation.
What is the historical return and maximum drawdown of GTAA (Global Tactical Asset Allocation)?
Backtested from 1986-02-28 to 2026-08-19, GTAA (Global Tactical Asset Allocation) returned 7.5% CAGR with a -16.8% maximum drawdown and a Sharpe ratio of 1.18. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
How often is GTAA (Global Tactical Asset Allocation) rebalanced?
GTAA (Global Tactical Asset Allocation) is rebalanced monthly. BestFolio publishes the updated allocation signal each period.
Is GTAA (Global Tactical Asset Allocation) a tactical asset allocation strategy?
Yes. GTAA (Global Tactical 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 (1986-02-28 to 2026-08-19)

MetricGTAA (Global Tactical Asset Allocation)
CAGR7.5%
Max Drawdown-16.8%
Sharpe1.18
Sortino1.59
Volatility7.0%
Calmar0.45
Total Return1778.4%
Backtest Period40.3 years

Strategy Details

Type
Tactical (TAA)
Rebalancing
monthly
Risk Level
moderate
Variants
2
Author
Meb Faber
Source
Faber, M. (2006). A Quantitative Approach to Tactical Asset Allocation

Asset Classes

  • US Equity
  • International Equity
  • REITs
  • US Treasuries
  • Commodities

Further reading

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

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