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UIS (Universal Investment Strategy)

UIS (Universal Investment Strategy) 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 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 publication or construction boundary separates pre-publication simulation from later market observations under fixed rules; all returns remain hypothetical.
Rule / approach
1. Compute daily returns for SPY and TLT over the last 72 trading days 2. Test all SPY/TLT splits from 0%/100% to 100%/0% in 5% increments 3. For each split, calculate blended return and volatility over the lookback window 4. Score each…
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.

UIS (Universal Investment Strategy) at a glance

UIS (Universal Investment Strategy) is a tactical asset allocation (TAA) strategy by Frank Grossmann across US Equity, Long-Term Treasuries, rebalanced monthly. Backtested 1920-08-31 to 2026-08-19 (105.8 years): 6.8% CAGR, 0.69 Sharpe, -34.6% max drawdown, 7.7% volatility.

Type
Tactical (TAA)
Author
Frank Grossmann
Rebalancing
Monthly
Risk
Moderate
Period
1920-08-31 to 2026-08-19
CAGR
6.8%
Sharpe
0.69
Max Drawdown
-34.6%
Volatility
7.7%

UIS (Universal Investment Strategy) Tactical Asset Allocation Strategy

The Universal Investment Strategy (UIS), originally proposed by Frank Grossmann, dynamically optimizes the allocation between SPY (US equities) and TLT (long-term treasuries) by maximizing a modified Sharpe ratio over a 72-day lookback window.

The modified Sharpe ratio uses Return / Volatility^2.5 instead of the standard Return / Volatility, which penalizes volatility more aggressively and produces smoother allocations. The strategy tests all allocation splits from 0% to 100% in 5% increments (21 combinations) and selects the split with the highest modified Sharpe ratio.

UIS (Universal Investment Strategy): frequently asked questions

What is Universal Investment Strategy?
Dynamically optimizes the stocks/bonds split by maximizing a modified Sharpe ratio (Return / Vol^2.5) over a 72-day lookback. Tests every 5% allocation increment between SPY and TLT to find the optimal mix. Monthly rebalancing.
Who created the UIS (Universal Investment Strategy) strategy?
UIS (Universal Investment Strategy) was developed by Frank Grossmann. It is based on Frank Grossmann (2014). Modified Sharpe ratio optimization for SPY/TLT allocation..
What is the historical return and maximum drawdown of UIS (Universal Investment Strategy)?
Backtested from 1920-08-31 to 2026-08-19, UIS (Universal Investment Strategy) returned 6.8% CAGR with a -34.6% maximum drawdown and a Sharpe ratio of 0.69. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
How often is UIS (Universal Investment Strategy) rebalanced?
UIS (Universal Investment Strategy) is rebalanced monthly. BestFolio publishes the updated allocation signal each period.
Is UIS (Universal Investment Strategy) a tactical asset allocation strategy?
Yes. UIS (Universal Investment Strategy) 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 (1920-08-31 to 2026-08-19)

MetricUIS (Universal Investment Strategy)
CAGR6.8%
Max Drawdown-34.6%
Sharpe0.69
Sortino0.86
Volatility7.7%
Calmar0.20
Total Return105488.4%
Backtest Period105.8 years

Strategy Details

Type
Tactical (TAA)
Rebalancing
monthly
Risk Level
moderate
Variants
1
Author
Frank Grossmann
Source
Frank Grossmann (2014). Modified Sharpe ratio optimization for SPY/TLT allocation.

Asset Classes

  • US Equity
  • Long-Term Treasuries

Categories

Further reading

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

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