VIX Shield
VIX Shield is a tactical asset allocation strategy reviewed on a daily 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 2025 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
- Daily
- Backtest data through
- 2026-08-19
- History boundary
- The recorded 2025 publication or construction boundary separates pre-publication simulation from later market observations under fixed rules; all returns remain hypothetical.
- Rule / approach
- 1. Compute 10-day SMA of VIX 2. Panic Reversal: spot VIX > 35 AND spot VIX < VIX SMA → 70% SPY, 15% DBMF, 15% GLD 3. Crisis: VIX SMA >= 30 → 20% SPY, 40% DBMF, 40% GLD 4. Elevated: VIX SMA >= 20 → 50% SPY, 25% DBMF, 25% GLD 5. Calm…
- 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
- Today (market open); scheduled 2026-08-20 at 09:30 ET. Review the published signal before placing any trade.
VIX Shield at a glance
VIX Shield is a tactical asset allocation (TAA) strategy by BestFolio across US Equity, Managed Futures, Gold, rebalanced daily. Backtested 1990-01-16 to 2026-08-19 (36.5 years): 12.0% CAGR, 0.86 Sharpe, -51.1% max drawdown, 17.3% volatility.
- Type
- Tactical (TAA)
- Author
- BestFolio
- Rebalancing
- Daily
- Risk
- Aggressive
- Period
- 1990-01-16 to 2026-08-19
- CAGR
- 12.0%
- Sharpe
- 0.86
- Max Drawdown
- -51.1%
- Volatility
- 17.3%
VIX Shield — Tactical Asset Allocation Strategy
VIX Shield is a BestFolio original daily strategy that uses VIX levels to dynamically allocate between equities, managed futures, and gold. It uses the 10-day SMA of VIX for regime thresholds.
Four regimes (priority order): 1. Panic Reversal: Spot VIX > 35 AND falling → 70% SPY, 15% DBMF, 15% GLD 2. Crisis: VIX SMA >= 30 → 20% SPY, 40% DBMF, 40% GLD 3. Elevated: VIX SMA >= 20 → 50% SPY, 25% DBMF, 25% GLD 4. Calm: VIX SMA < 20 → 80% QQQ, 10% DBMF, 10% GLD
VIX Shield: frequently asked questions
- What is VIX Shield?
- ⚠️ THE LEVERAGED VARIANT IS FOR EDUCATIONAL/COMPARISON PURPOSES ONLY: we strongly advise against running it with real money. Daily VIX regime allocator. Uses 10-day VIX SMA to shift between equities, managed futures, and gold. Contrarian panic reversal at extremes.
- Who created the VIX Shield strategy?
- VIX Shield was developed by BestFolio. It is based on BestFolio original strategy (2024).
- What is the historical return and maximum drawdown of VIX Shield?
- Backtested from 1990-01-16 to 2026-08-19, VIX Shield returned 12.0% CAGR with a -51.1% maximum drawdown and a Sharpe ratio of 0.86. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
- How often is VIX Shield rebalanced?
- VIX Shield is rebalanced daily. BestFolio publishes the updated allocation signal each period.
- Is VIX Shield a tactical asset allocation strategy?
- Yes. VIX Shield 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 (1990-01-16 to 2026-08-19)
| Metric | VIX Shield |
|---|---|
| CAGR | 12.0% |
| Max Drawdown | -51.1% |
| Sharpe | 0.86 |
| Sortino | 1.38 |
| Volatility | 17.3% |
| Calmar | 0.23 |
| Total Return | 6138.1% |
| Backtest Period | 36.5 years |
Strategy Details
- Type
- Tactical (TAA)
- Rebalancing
- daily
- Risk Level
- aggressive
- Variants
- 3
- Author
- BestFolio
- Source
- BestFolio original strategy (2024)
Asset Classes
- US Equity
- Managed Futures
- Gold
Further reading
New to this approach? Read what tactical asset allocation is and how it works.
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