Permanent Portfolio (Static) at a glance
Permanent Portfolio (Static) is a fixed-allocation portfolio by Harry Browne across US Equity, Long-Term Treasuries, Gold, Short-Term Treasuries, rebalanced annual. Backtested 1978-12-29 to 2026-07-03 (47.5 years): 7.9% CAGR, 1.08 Sharpe, -18.6% max drawdown, 6.4% volatility.
- Type
- Fixed Allocation
- Author
- Harry Browne
- Rebalancing
- Annual
- Risk
- Conservative
- Period
- 1978-12-29 to 2026-07-03
- CAGR
- 7.9%
- Sharpe
- 1.08
- Max Drawdown
- -18.6%
- Volatility
- 6.4%
Permanent Portfolio (Static) — Fixed Allocation Portfolio
The static Permanent Portfolio by Harry Browne divides the portfolio equally (25% each) across four asset classes designed for four economic states: stocks (prosperity), long-term bonds (deflation), gold (inflation), and cash (recession). Pure static version with annual rebalancing, no trend following or SMA filters.
Permanent Portfolio (Static): frequently asked questions
- What is Permanent Portfolio (Static)?
- Classic 4x25% allocation: stocks, long bonds, gold, and cash. Covers prosperity, deflation, inflation, and recession.
- Who created the Permanent Portfolio (Static) strategy?
- Permanent Portfolio (Static) was developed by Harry Browne. It is based on Browne, H. Fail-Safe Investing (1999).
- What is the historical return and maximum drawdown of Permanent Portfolio (Static)?
- Backtested from 1978-12-29 to 2026-07-03, Permanent Portfolio (Static) returned 7.9% CAGR with a -18.6% maximum drawdown and a Sharpe ratio of 1.08. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
- How often is Permanent Portfolio (Static) rebalanced?
- Permanent Portfolio (Static) is rebalanced annual. BestFolio publishes the updated allocation signal each period.
- Is Permanent Portfolio (Static) a fixed or tactical strategy?
- Permanent Portfolio (Static) is a fixed-allocation (strategic) portfolio: it holds a set allocation and rebalances on schedule rather than rotating based on market signals.
Backtest Performance (1978-12-29 to 2026-07-03)
| Metric | Permanent Portfolio (Static) |
|---|---|
| Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) | 7.9% |
| Maximum Drawdown | -18.6% |
| Sharpe Ratio | 1.08 |
| Sortino Ratio | 1.75 |
| Annualized Volatility | 6.4% |
| Calmar Ratio | 0.42 |
| Total Return | 3562.2% |
| Backtest Period | 47.5 years |
Strategy Details
- Type
- Fixed / Strategic
- Rebalancing
- annual
- Risk Level
- conservative
- Variants
- 1
- Author
- Harry Browne
- Source
- Browne, H. Fail-Safe Investing (1999)
Asset Classes
- US Equity
- Long-Term Treasuries
- Gold
- Short-Term Treasuries
Categories
Track Permanent Portfolio (Static) in Your Portfolio
Sign up for BestFolio to get monthly rebalancing signals, blend strategies into custom portfolios, and receive alerts when allocations change.
Related strategies
Related research
- The poor man's trend program: three ETFs, one rule, 53 years of dataBeyond Passive asked how close you can get to a futures trend program with three plain ETFs and one monthly trend rule. I rebuilt it on our engine back to 1972: the drawdown cut is real, robust to the signal choice, and honest about where the edge comes from.
- We Extended Our Backtest to 1974. Here Is the 4% Rule Through the 1970s Stagflation.A few weeks ago we measured safe withdrawal rates across 50+ tactical strategies, and the fairest critique was that our data started in 1990. So we extended HAA's backtest to 1974, through the stagflation that nearly broke the 4% rule. The safe rate came down, and that makes it more believable.
- Which TAA Strategies Actually Work in Europe: A UCITS Substitution GuideEuropean investors hit a wall the moment they try to run a US TAA strategy through IBKR: PRIIPs blocks AVUV, DBC, and most US-domiciled ETFs from retail purchase. The substitutes exist on XETRA and LSE, but they're not all equal. Some strategies translate cleanly (HAA, GEM, Permanent Portfolio). Others lose 50 to 100bps of CAGR per year through methodology drift on the small-cap-value sleeve. A few don't really translate at all. Here's the working playbook, split into three tiers.