The Desert Portfolio was proposed by the user Desert on the Gyroscopic Investing forums as a way to combine the simplicity of a classic stock/bond allocation. It consists of just 3 asset classes and is similar to the Permanent Portfolio's barbell bond because of its 60% intermediate-term bond allocation.
The backtesting period is limited by the inception date of US Total Stock Market (TOTSTOCKMKT.X): Jun 30, 1926.
A quick overview of the assets within the portfolio, its performance and main metrics.
The portfolio consists of 3 asset classes.
| Name / Ticker | Type | Currency | Inception | Weight | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
Intermediate-Term Treasury MTTREASURY.X   | Asset Class | USD | Dec 30, 1870 | 60% | 
US Total Stock Market TOTSTOCKMKT.X   | Asset Class | USD | Jun 30, 1926 | 30% | 
Gold GOLD.X   | Asset Class | USD | Dec 30, 1791 | 10% | 
The backtest spans over a period of 99 years. With an annual return of 7.14% for Gyroscopic Investing Desert Portfolio, the cumulative return over that period amounts to 94834%.
| Portfolio Score | Gyroscopic Investing Desert Portfolio | 
|---|---|
| Portfolio Score | 
| Returns | Gyroscopic Investing Desert Portfolio | 
|---|---|
| Month-to-Date | 1.27% | 
| Year-to-Date | 14.08% | 
| 3M | 6.1% | 
| 6M | 10.23% | 
| Annualized Return (3Y) | 12.89% | 
| Annualized Return (5Y) | 6.64% | 
| Annualized Return (10Y) | 6.63% | 
| Annualized Return (20Y) | 6.76% | 
| Annualized Return (All, 99.3Y) | 7.14% | 
| Risk | Gyroscopic Investing Desert Portfolio | 
|---|---|
| Annual Volatility | 3.86% | 
| Max Drawdown | -32.7% | 
| Sharpe Ratio | 1.78 | 
| Sortino Ratio | 2.68 | 
| Adjusted Sortino Ratio | 1.9 | 
With a projected annual return (CAGR) of 7.14% and an initial investment of $10,000, Gyroscopic Investing Desert Portfolio would have the following projected capital growth over the next 50 years.
| Year | Starting Capital | Ending Capital | Total Gain | Avg Monthly Gain | Cumulative Return | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $10,714 | $714 | $59 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | $14,118 | $15,126 | $1,008 | $84 | 51.3% | 
| 10 | $19,930 | $21,353 | $1,423 | $119 | 114% | 
| 15 | $28,137 | $30,146 | $2,009 | $167 | 201% | 
| 20 | $39,722 | $42,558 | $2,836 | $236 | 326% | 
| 50 | $314,472 | $336,925 | $22,453 | $1,871 | 3,269% | 
A detailed look at the returns of the portfolio.
| Portfolio | All (99.3Y) | 20Y | 10Y | 5Y | 3Y | 1Y | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gyroscopic Investing Desert Portfolio | 7.14% | 6.76% | 6.63% | 6.64% | 12.89% | 13.54% | 
| Year | Gyroscopic Investing Desert Portfolio | 
|---|---|
| 1926 | 4.24% | 
| 1927 | 13.13% | 
| 1928 | 11.1% | 
| 1929 | -0.82% | 
| 1930 | -3.86% | 
| 1931 | -14.48% | 
| 1932 | 4.7% | 
| 1933 | 20.76% | 
| 1934 | 9.47% | 
| 1935 | 16.26% | 
| Portfolio | Positive Years | Negative Years | Positive Ratio | Best Return Years | Worst Return Years | 
| Gyroscopic Investing Desert Portfolio | 88 | 12 | 88.00% | 100 | 100 | 
Let's analyze how much risk the portfoliohas.
A drawdown represents the period of decline an investor experiences between a portfolio's peak (new high) and its subsequent low, also known as the valley (before it begins to recover). The table below highlights the five largest drawdowns encountered by the portfolio.
| Drawdown period | Recovery period | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max drawdown | Start | Valley | # Months | End | # Months | # Months | Chart | 
| -32.7% | 1929-09-03 | 1932-05-31 | 33  | 1934-11-13 | 29  | 62 | |
| -16.14% | 2021-11-10 | 2022-10-20 | 11  | 2024-03-07 | 17  | 28 | |
| -15.36% | 1937-04-01 | 1938-03-31 | 12  | 1939-09-20 | 18  | 30 | |
| -13.1% | 2008-05-21 | 2008-10-27 | 5  | 2009-09-09 | 10  | 16 | |
| -12.63% | 1980-01-22 | 1980-03-31 | 2  | 1980-06-04 | 2  | 4 | |
| -11.78% | 1974-02-27 | 1974-09-26 | 7  | 1975-02-07 | 4  | 11 | |
| -8.84% | 1987-09-03 | 1987-11-27 | 3  | 1988-10-17 | 11  | 13 | |
| -8.76% | 2020-02-21 | 2020-03-18 | 1  | 2020-05-20 | 2  | 3 | |
| -7.94% | 1993-10-18 | 1994-05-11 | 7  | 1995-03-27 | 11  | 17 | |
| -7.87% | 1946-06-03 | 1947-05-30 | 12  | 1949-08-22 | 27  | 39 | |
Gyroscopic Investing Desert Portfolio took approximately 62 months on average to recover from major drawdowns of 20% or more. The largest drawdown reached -32.7% and the longest drawdown period lasted 62 months.