PORTFOLIO COMPARISON / ONE VARIABLE

60/40 vs All Weather Portfolio Backtest

Compare a conventional 60/40 stock-and-bond portfolio with a transparent All Weather ETF proxy over the same available historical window.

Classic allocation comparisonCommon retirement-portfolio questionStock-bond balance vs regime diversificationHistorical result available

HISTORICAL BACKTEST RESULT

60% SPY / 40% AGG vs All Weather ETF proxy

60% SPY / 40% AGG All Weather ETF proxy
2016-08-23 → 2026-07-31 · 2492 common sessions
60% SPY / 40% AGG$22,7528.6% annualized · -21.3% max drawdown
All Weather ETF proxy$15,1354.3% annualized · -23.5% max drawdown

Historical calculation from cached Marketstack EOD data. Annual rebalancing, $10,000 initial value, nominal USD before fees and taxes. The disclosed portfolio definitions—not an AI model—produce the result.

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WHAT TO COMPARE

Read the trade-off as a system.

  1. 01Ending value
  2. 02Annualized return
  3. 03Maximum drawdown
  4. 04Return path

WHEN TO LOOK

Locate where the difference appeared.

First shared ETF observation onwardInflation and rate shocksAnnual rebalance

A useful comparison shows whether an advantage was broad or created by one unusually favorable period. Review the portfolio backtest methodology to understand how the same rules are applied across a shared data window.

OBSERVED RESULT / REAL MARKET DATA

What the comparison actually produced.

The chart above is the authoritative calculated output for the current cached window; the allocation definitions remain visible so the result can be reproduced.

WINDOWFirst common Marketstack EOD date → latest cached session
CAPITAL$10,000 initial investment
CALCULATIONMarketstack adjusted closes for SPY, AGG, TLT, IEF, GLD and DBC; target weights restored annually; nominal USD before fees and taxes.
PortfolioImplementationRebalancing
60/4060% SPY / 40% AGGAnnual
All Weather proxy30% SPY / 40% TLT / 15% IEF / 7.5% GLD / 7.5% DBCAnnual

STRATEGY CONTEXT

What this portfolio strategy means.

A short definition, the reason investors return to it, and the historical context behind the name. It is context for a backtest—not an investment recommendation.

What it is

The traditional 60/40 portfolio combines 60% equities with 40% bonds. This page compares that simple stock-and-bond reference with a disclosed All Weather-style ETF proxy that spreads exposure across equities, nominal bonds, inflation-sensitive assets, and gold. It is a comparison of two complete allocation frameworks, not a claim that one is universally superior.

Why investors use it

A 60/40 mix remains a useful benchmark because its rule is short, observable, and easy to rebalance. Investors explore All Weather-style allocations when they want to ask a different question: how would broader economic diversification have changed the outcome during growth shocks, inflation shocks, and changes in interest rates? Seeing the costs alongside the protections matters more than choosing a label.

Historical context

Stock-and-bond balanced portfolios predate ETFs by decades and became a standard shorthand for diversified investing. Bridgewater later popularized the All Weather idea as an attempt to balance exposure to different economic environments. The public versions vary widely, so this page fixes its ETF proxies and weights visibly rather than implying there is one canonical retail implementation.