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Investment Visual

Buffett 90/10 Portfolio

Jul 30, 2002 – Sep 24, 2026, Rebalanced annually

Backtest it
Buffett 90/10S&P 500
Final balance$110,351$131,039
CAGR10.45%11.24%
Max drawdown−50.16%−55.19%
Sharpe ratio0.680.66

Allocation

  • SPYS&P 50090%
  • SHYShort-term Treasuries10%

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Growth of $10,000

  • Buffett 90/10
  • S&P 500

Metrics

ReturnBuffett 90/10S&P 500
Final balance$110,351$131,039
Total return1003.51%1210.39%
CAGR10.45%11.24%
Calendar yearsBuffett 90/10S&P 500
Best year29.10%32.31%
Worst year−32.45%−36.80%
Positive years20 of 2320 of 23
RiskBuffett 90/10S&P 500
Max drawdown−50.16%−55.19%
Longest drawdown4.4 years4.9 years
Volatility (annualized)16.63%18.77%
Risk-adjustedBuffett 90/10S&P 500
Sharpe ratio0.680.66
Sortino ratio0.970.94
Calmar ratio0.210.20

Worst drawdowns

DeclinePeakBottomRecovered
−50.2%Oct 2007Mar 2009Mar 2012
−30.3%Feb 2020Mar 2020Aug 2020
−22.5%Jan 2022Oct 2022Dec 2023
−17.5%Sep 2018Dec 2018Apr 2019
−17.0%Aug 2002Oct 2002May 2003

Annual returns

YearBuffett 90/10S&P 500
2002*−1.62%−2.07%
2003+25.59%+28.18%
2004+9.69%+10.70%
2005+4.50%+4.83%
2006+14.65%+15.85%
2007+5.37%+5.15%
2008−32.45%−36.80%
2009+23.75%+26.35%
2010+13.78%+15.06%
2011+1.85%+1.89%
2012+14.42%+15.99%
2013+29.10%+32.31%
2014+12.16%+13.46%
2015+1.15%+1.23%
2016+10.88%+12.00%
2017+19.56%+21.71%
2018−3.97%−4.57%
2019+28.44%+31.22%
2020+16.80%+18.33%
2021+25.78%+28.73%
2022−16.75%−18.18%
2023+23.97%+26.18%
2024+22.79%+24.89%
2025+16.44%+17.72%
2026*+12.07%+13.38%

* Partial year

About the Buffett 90/10 Portfolio

In his 2013 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Warren Buffett said how the money he leaves his wife should be invested. His advice to the trustee is 90% in a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund and 10% in short-term government bonds.

It's almost all stocks, so it rises and falls with the market. The bonds are a small reserve for bad years. Buffett suggested Vanguard's fund. Its ETF, VOO, only started in 2010, so this page uses SPY.

The Buffett 90/10 Portfolio returned 10.5% a year from Jul 2002 to Sep 2026, against 11.2% for the S&P 500. Its biggest drop was 50.2%, against 55.2% for the S&P 500. It took 4.4 years to recover. It beat the S&P 500 in 4 of 23 full years.

Uses daily closing prices with dividends reinvested. Fund fees are included, but not taxes or trading costs. The backtest starts on Jul 30, 2002, the first day both funds have prices. The S&P 500 is SPY.

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