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Harry Browne Permanent Portfolio

Equal 25% stocks, long bonds, cash, and gold - built to be permanent in any market. Estimated to 1976.

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S&P 500 Backfill (estimated to 1871)1871-02-28 → 2026-06-30Estimated from 1871 to SPY's 1993 inception using the S&P 500 total-return index (Robert Shiller), minus the fund's expense ratio, then chain-linked to the real SPY fund. The dashed part of the chart is estimated - an index proxy, not the fund's real record.
%
backfill estimated before SPY's 1993 inception, from the S&P 500 total-return index (Robert Shiller).
Long-Term Treasury Backfill (20+yr, estimated to 1953)1953-05-31 → 2026-06-30Estimated from 1953 to TLT's 2002 inception using the 20-year Treasury yield (FRED), modeled as a constant-maturity bond, minus the fund's expense ratio, then chain-linked to the real TLT fund. The dashed part of the chart is estimated - an index proxy, not the fund's real record.
%
backfill estimated before TLT's 2002 inception, from the 20-year Treasury yield (FRED), modeled as a constant-maturity bond.
Short-Term Treasury Backfill (1-3yr, estimated to 1976)1976-07-31 → 2026-06-30Estimated from 1976 to SHY's 2002 inception using the 2-year Treasury yield (FRED), modeled as a constant-maturity bond, minus the fund's expense ratio, then chain-linked to the real SHY fund. The dashed part of the chart is estimated - an index proxy, not the fund's real record.
%
backfill estimated before SHY's 2002 inception, from the 2-year Treasury yield (FRED), modeled as a constant-maturity bond.
Gold Backfill (estimated to 1968)1968-01-31 → 2026-06-30Estimated from 1968 to GLD's 2004 inception using the gold spot price (World Bank); gold was a fixed official price before the 1968 free market, minus the fund's expense ratio, then chain-linked to the real GLD fund. The dashed part of the chart is estimated - an index proxy, not the fund's real record.
%
backfill estimated before GLD's 2004 inception, from the gold spot price (World Bank); gold was a fixed official price before the 1968 free market.
Total 100%
Data window Harry Browne Permanent Portfolio: 1976-07-31 → 2026-06-30 · start: SHYX
Dashed = estimated before the fund existed (reconstructed from its tracked index): GOLDX from 1968-01-31 · SHYX from 1976-07-31 · SP500X from 1871-02-28 · UST20X from 1953-05-31

Portfolio growth

Harry Browne Permanent Portfolio
CAGR8.31%
Max Drawdown-17.43%
Volatility7.24%
Sharpe0.57
Final balance$540,988
Total return5309.88%

Drawdown

Annual returns

Harry Browne Permanent Portfolio
Total Return5309.88%
Sortino0.86
Best Year32.72%
Worst Year-14.29%
Positive Months65.67%
Annualized Return (mean)8.27%

Correlation

GOLDXSHYXSP500XUST20X
GOLDX1.000.080.050.08
SHYX0.081.000.060.63
SP500X0.050.061.000.03
UST20X0.080.630.031.00