Gone Fishin’ Portfolio: backtest, returns and drawdowns
Ten index funds: 70% in stocks across regions, real estate and gold miners, 30% in three kinds of bonds.
Data updated October 2026
Created by: Alexander Green (2008)
Allocation
| Asset class | ETF used in the backtest | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| US total stock market | ITOT | 15% |
| US small caps | IJR | 15% |
| European and Pacific stocks | EFA | 20% |
| Emerging-market stocks | EEM | 10% |
| Short-term bonds | BSV | 10% |
| High-yield corporate bonds | HYG | 10% |
| Inflation-protected Treasuries (TIPS) | TIP | 10% |
| US real estate (REITs) | IYR | 5% |
| Gold and precious-metal miners | GDX | 5% |
- Stocks 70%
- Bonds 30.0%
From October 2011 to October 2026 the Gone Fishin’ Portfolio returned 8.0% a year on average, with annual volatility of 12.3%. Its deepest fall was 26.8%, from January 2020 to March 2020, recovered in about 7 months.
Its best year was 2025 (+23.2%) and its worst 2022 (−14.9%).
Over the same period 100% US stocks returned 14.3% a year with a maximum fall of 35.0%.
Key figures
- Annual return (CAGR)
- +8.0%
- Annual volatility
- 12.3%
- Maximum drawdown
- −26.8%
- Recovery time
- 7 months
- Sharpe
- 0.57
- Sortino
- 0.79
- Worst year
- 2022: −14.9%
- Positive years
- 11/14
Growth of $10,000
Drawdowns
Returns by calendar year
| Year | Gone Fishin’ Portfolio | 60/40 Portfolio | 100% Stocks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026(partial) | +7.4% | +6.9% | +12.7% |
| 2025 | +23.2% | +13.0% | +17.0% |
| 2024 | +8.3% | +14.8% | +23.8% |
| 2023 | +14.0% | +17.9% | +26.1% |
| 2022 | −14.9% | −16.9% | −19.5% |
| 2021 | +12.0% | +14.6% | +25.7% |
| 2020 | +10.9% | +15.4% | +20.7% |
| 2019 | +20.4% | +21.9% | +30.7% |
| 2018 | −7.2% | −3.1% | −5.3% |
| 2017 | +16.0% | +14.2% | +21.4% |
| 2016 | +12.0% | +8.3% | +12.1% |
| 2015 | −4.0% | +0.2% | −0.1% |
| 2014 | +2.4% | +9.7% | +12.2% |
| 2013 | +11.9% | +18.2% | +31.8% |
| 2012 | +12.7% | +10.4% | +14.7% |
| 2011(partial) | +2.7% | +3.1% | +4.1% |
History
- Created by
- Alexander Green
- Who
- Chief investment strategist of The Oxford Club
- Year
- 2008
- Source
- The Gone Fishin’ Portfolio (2008)
- Funds in the backtest
- 9
Alexander Green, chief investment strategist of the newsletter publisher The Oxford Club, presented the Gone Fishin’ Portfolio in a 2008 book of the same name. The promise in the title: build a diversified set of index funds, rebalance once a year and go fishing instead of watching the markets.
It spreads 70% across seven slices of stocks and real assets – US total market and small caps, Europe, the Pacific, emerging markets, real estate and precious-metal miners – and 30% across short-term bonds, high-yield bonds and inflation-protected bonds.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- Ten funds across regions and asset types
- Includes precious-metal miners and real estate
- Mixes three kinds of bonds
Weaknesses
- Gold miners are very volatile
- High-yield bonds tend to fall with stocks in crises
- Ten funds to rebalance
How it works
Diversify widely once, rebalance once a year and stop watching the markets.
Backtest with total-return ETF prices (dividends reinvested), rebalanced to target weights on the first trading day of each year. Where a Vanguard fund has a short price history in our data, an iShares fund on the same market is used (for example ITOT for VTI, IVV for VOO). No fees, taxes or currency effects; first and last years are partial. Past results do not predict future returns.
Questions
Who created the Gone Fishin’ Portfolio?
Alexander Green (chief investment strategist of The Oxford Club), 2008. Source: The Gone Fishin’ Portfolio (2008).
What is the Gone Fishin’ Portfolio?
Ten index funds: 70% in stocks across regions, real estate and gold miners, 30% in three kinds of bonds. Allocation: 15% us total stock market, 15% us small caps, 20% european and pacific stocks, 10% emerging-market stocks, 10% short-term bonds, 10% high-yield corporate bonds, 10% inflation-protected treasuries (tips), 5% us real estate (reits), 5% gold and precious-metal miners. Created by: Alexander Green (2008).
What is the Gone Fishin’ Portfolio return?
In the backtest from October 2011 to October 2026 it returned 8.0% a year on average, with a maximum drawdown of 26.8%. US dollars, before fees and taxes.
How often should it be rebalanced?
The backtest rebalances once a year back to the target weights. Rebalancing more often changes little and adds costs; some investors rebalance only when a weight drifts beyond a threshold.
What was the worst drawdown of the Gone Fishin’ Portfolio?
26.8%, from January 2020 to March 2020; it took about 7 months to get back to the previous high.
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- Versione italiana
Source: MarketStack end-of-day prices. Historical and educational content: not a forecast and not investment advice. MEDGE Capital does not recommend buying or selling any instrument. Risk disclaimer.