Permanent Portfolio (Lequeux)
Permanent Portfolio (Lequeux) is a tactical asset allocation strategy reviewed on a monthly cadence. Its hypothetical backtest runs through 2026-09-04. BestFolio supplies the public rule or approach and backtest context; current signals, allocations, and paid interactive data remain restricted to Pro access. The recorded 2024 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
- 2026-09-04
- History boundary
- The recorded 2024 publication or construction boundary separates pre-publication simulation from later market observations under fixed rules; all returns remain hypothetical.
- Rule / approach
- 1. Always hold 20% VT, 20% TLT and 20% GLD 2. Compute 12-month ROC for SPY and VEU 3. If ROC(SPY) > 0 and ROC(SPY) >= ROC(VEU): 40% SPY 4. If ROC(SPY) > 0 and ROC(SPY) < ROC(VEU): 40% VEU 5. If ROC(SPY) <= 0: 40% BIL (defensive cash) 6.…
- 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 2026-09-04. A run timestamp is not exposed here, so no stronger freshness claim is made.
- Next expected action
- First trading day of October; scheduled 2026-10-01 at 09:30 ET. Review the published signal before placing any trade.
Permanent Portfolio (Lequeux) at a glance
Permanent Portfolio (Lequeux) is a tactical asset allocation (TAA) strategy by Nicolas Lequeux across Global Equity, US Equity, International Equity, Long-Term Treasuries, rebalanced monthly. Backtested 1986-02-28 to 2026-09-04 (40.5 years): 9.7% CAGR, 1.12 Sharpe, -19.6% max drawdown, 9.2% volatility.
- Type
- Tactical (TAA)
- Author
- Nicolas Lequeux
- Rebalancing
- Monthly
- Risk
- Moderate
- Period
- 1986-02-28 to 2026-09-04
- CAGR
- 9.7%
- Sharpe
- 1.12
- Max Drawdown
- -19.6%
- Volatility
- 9.2%
Permanent Portfolio (Lequeux) — Tactical Asset Allocation Strategy
Nicolas Lequeux's Permanent Portfolio brings together three well-known ideas: Harry Browne's Permanent Portfolio for its diversification across stocks, bonds, gold and cash, the classic 60/40 as the ceiling on equity exposure, and Gary Antonacci's Global Equity Momentum as the rule for moving between the two. Sixty percent of the portfolio never changes: 20% global equities (VT), 20% long-term Treasuries (TLT) and 20% gold. The remaining 40% is a dynamic sleeve invested in US equities (SPY), international equities (VEU) or cash (BIL) according to 12-month rate of change: the sleeve follows whichever market leads while US momentum is positive, and parks in cash when it turns negative. Total equity exposure therefore ranges from 20% to 60%, and a full risk-off only ever moves 40% of the portfolio. The 2026 version is the one the author runs today; the original 2024 dashboard version (25% TLT + 25% gold + a 50% sleeve, no separate equity core) is kept as a second variant.
Permanent Portfolio (Lequeux): frequently asked questions
- What is Permanent Portfolio (Lequeux)?
- Nicolas Lequeux's Permanent Portfolio: 20% global equities (VT), 20% long-term Treasuries (TLT) and 20% gold held permanently, plus a 40% sleeve rotated monthly between US equities (SPY), international equities (VEU) and cash (BIL) on 12-month rate of change, in the spirit of Antonacci's Global Equity Momentum. Total equity exposure ranges from 20% to 60%.
- Who created the Permanent Portfolio (Lequeux) strategy?
- Permanent Portfolio (Lequeux) was developed by Nicolas Lequeux. It is based on Lequeux, N. (2026). My Permanent Portfolio (LinkedIn) and the Permanent Portfolio Dashboard (nlxfin.shinyapps.io).
- What is the historical return and maximum drawdown of Permanent Portfolio (Lequeux)?
- Backtested from 1986-02-28 to 2026-09-04, Permanent Portfolio (Lequeux) returned 9.7% CAGR with a -19.6% maximum drawdown and a Sharpe ratio of 1.12. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
- How often is Permanent Portfolio (Lequeux) rebalanced?
- Permanent Portfolio (Lequeux) is rebalanced monthly. BestFolio publishes the updated allocation signal each period.
- Is Permanent Portfolio (Lequeux) a tactical asset allocation strategy?
- Yes. Permanent Portfolio (Lequeux) 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 2026-09-04)
| Metric | Permanent Portfolio (Lequeux) |
|---|---|
| CAGR | 9.7% |
| Max Drawdown | -19.6% |
| Sharpe | 1.12 |
| Sortino | 1.96 |
| Volatility | 9.2% |
| Calmar | 0.49 |
| Total Return | 4110.7% |
| Backtest Period | 40.5 years |
Strategy Details
- Type
- Tactical (TAA)
- Rebalancing
- monthly
- Risk Level
- moderate
- Variants
- 2
- Author
- Nicolas Lequeux
- Source
- Lequeux, N. (2026). My Permanent Portfolio (LinkedIn) and the Permanent Portfolio Dashboard (nlxfin.shinyapps.io)
Asset Classes
- Global Equity
- US Equity
- International Equity
- Long-Term Treasuries
- Gold
- Cash (T-Bills)
Categories
Further reading
New to this approach? Read what tactical asset allocation is and how it works.
Holding Permanent Portfolio (Lequeux) alongside another strategy? Use the free portfolio overlap calculator to see how much of the two portfolios actually differs.
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