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80/20 Portfolio

Apr 10, 2007 – Sep 23, 2026, Rebalanced annually

Backtest it
80/20S&P 500
Final balance$58,751$75,807
CAGR9.53%10.97%
Max drawdown−45.26%−55.19%
Sharpe ratio0.660.63

Allocation

  • VTIUS total stock market80%
  • BNDUS total bond market20%

Loading the growth chart…

Growth of $10,000

  • 80/20
  • S&P 500

Metrics

Return80/20S&P 500
Final balance$58,751$75,807
Total return487.51%658.07%
CAGR9.53%10.97%
Calendar years80/20S&P 500
Best year26.34%32.31%
Worst year−28.22%−36.80%
Positive years15 of 1815 of 18
Risk80/20S&P 500
Max drawdown−45.26%−55.19%
Longest drawdown3.3 years4.9 years
Volatility (annualized)15.53%19.64%
Risk-adjusted80/20S&P 500
Sharpe ratio0.660.63
Sortino ratio0.930.89
Calmar ratio0.210.20

Worst drawdowns

DeclinePeakBottomRecovered
−45.3%Oct 2007Mar 2009Jan 2011
−28.5%Feb 2020Mar 2020Aug 2020
−23.4%Dec 2021Oct 2022Jan 2024
−16.2%Sep 2018Dec 2018Apr 2019
−15.5%Jul 2011Oct 2011Feb 2012

Annual returns

Year80/20S&P 500
2007*+2.82%+2.57%
2008−28.22%−36.80%
2009+23.85%+26.35%
2010+15.18%+15.06%
2011+2.36%+1.89%
2012+13.75%+15.99%
2013+26.34%+32.31%
2014+11.20%+13.46%
2015+0.40%+1.23%
2016+10.76%+12.00%
2017+17.77%+21.71%
2018−4.16%−4.57%
2019+26.30%+31.22%
2020+18.40%+18.33%
2021+20.17%+28.73%
2022−18.24%−18.18%
2023+21.97%+26.18%
2024+19.32%+24.89%
2025+15.10%+17.72%
2026*+10.43%+13.47%

* Partial year

About the 80/20 Portfolio

The 80/20 portfolio holds 80% stocks and 20% bonds. It's usually aimed at investors with decades to go, who can live with bigger drops in exchange for more growth.

Next to the 60/40, it gained more in most good years and fell further in every bad one.

The 80/20 Portfolio returned 9.5% a year from Apr 2007 to Sep 2026, against 11.0% for the S&P 500. Its biggest drop was 45.3%, against 55.2% for the S&P 500. It took 3.3 years to recover. It beat the S&P 500 in 5 of 18 full years.

Uses daily closing prices with dividends reinvested. Fund fees are included, but not taxes or trading costs. The backtest starts on Apr 10, 2007, the first day both funds have prices. The S&P 500 is SPY.

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