The Harry Browne Portfolio Achieves Its Best Year Since 1933

A decades-old strategy, long mocked

There exists a decades-old allocation strategy, often mocked for its simplicity. It's called the Harry Browne Portfolio, or the Permanent Portfolio.

Its principle can be summed up in one line: four asset classes, equal weight for each.

• 25% stocks
• 25% bonds
• 25% commodities
• 25% cash

That's it. No market timing, no constant arbitrage, no short-term macro forecasting. Just four quarters, regularly rebalanced.

In 2026, its best year in 93 years

In 2026, this portfolio achieved its best performance in 93 years: +26% year-to-date, according to BofA Global Research data.

Unseen since 1933.

And above all: its third-best outperformance against the classic 60/40 portfolio (60% stocks, 40% bonds) in a century.

Why such performance this year?

The 2026 context is exactly what this portfolio was designed for.

War in Iran, resurgent inflation, extreme stock volatility, bond yields under pressure... In this environment, commodities have soared, starting with gold, which shows an annualized return of 31% this year.

The Permanent Portfolio does not try to guess which scenario will unfold. It permanently holds the asset that performs in each regime:

• stocks for growth,
• bonds for deflation and recessions,
• gold and commodities for inflation,
• cash for liquidity and stability.

When one collapses, another takes over. It's this logic of balance, not a directional bet, that explains this year's performance.

The problem? Almost no one is exposed

BofA's private clients hold on average only 0.4% of their portfolio in gold. BofA describes this situation as a "blatant" underweight.

And this figure likely applies to the vast majority of European savers. How many French investors hold even a few percent in gold or commodities? Almost none.

What it means for you

The Permanent Portfolio is not a miracle strategy. In calm bull markets, it significantly underperforms a 100% stock portfolio. That's its price, and it must be accepted.

But it fulfills its promise exactly during turbulent phases: it protects, it diversifies, and sometimes, like in 2026, it massively outperforms.

The lesson is simple.

Even modest exposure to commodities radically changes a portfolio's risk profile during a crisis.

A diversified commodities ETF, a few percent in physical gold or a gold ETF: these are not speculative bets. It's basic diversification that most investors simply don't have.

The fundamental lesson

You don't build an allocation for just the scenario you hope for, but for all possible scenarios. This is exactly Axone-Capital's philosophy: macro leads, diversification protects, and discipline does the rest.

The Permanent Portfolio reminds us of a truth that bull markets make us forget: you don't need to be brilliant to get through a crisis. You just need to be prepared, before it happens.