BND 20% · DBC 20% · VEU 20% · VNQ 20% · VTI 20% CAGR +7.0%
SPY CAGR +12.0%
Shaded: major market crises Bear Market (2022)
Ivy Portfolio
BND 20% · DBC 20% · VEU 20% · VNQ 20% · VTI 20% · Fixed income · Commodities · International equity
Mebane Faber and Eric Richardson · The Ivy Portfolio · 2009Sources (3)
5yr · 2021.10 – 2026.10 · $10,000 lump sum · monthly rebalancing · dividends reinvested · no taxes or fees · month-end
Final Balance $14,028
Invested $10,000
Gain +$4,028
SPY alone: $17,597
Annualized return +7.0%
5.0pp behind SPY
Max drawdown · month-end -16.9%
18 months from trough to recovery
SPY -23.9%
Loss after a 1-year hold 16%
8 of 49 past windows
None when held 3+ years
SPY 12%
Performance ⌄
Performance
Over 5 years it grew 1.4x; SPY grew 1.8x over the same period.
Calendar-year returns
Of 4 complete years: 1 with a loss, 1 ahead of SPY.
Show as a table
| Year | Selected allocation | SPY | In-year low |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | +13.4% | +17.7% | -2.8% |
| 2024 | +7.6% | +24.9% | -3.1% |
| 2023 | +10.6% | +26.2% | -7.8% |
| 2022 | -11.6% | -18.2% | -16.9% |
Depending on when you bought
Every month in the window taken as a start, held one, three or five years.
Observed windows overlap and are not independent samples. These shares are not probabilities of future gains.
Risk & recovery
The deepest fall was -16.9%, regained 18 months after the low. During the Bear Market (2022) it returned -14.9%, while SPY returned -19.7%.
Holdings
By asset class: equities 40% · bonds 20% · commodities 20% · real estate 20%. Its dividend yield over the last 12 months was 2.7%; the results reinvest dividends.
- BNDVanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund ETF Shares 20%
An ETF investing across the U.S. bond market.
- DBCInvesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund 20%
- VEUVanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Fund ETF Shares 20%
- VNQVanguard Real Estate Index Fund ETF Shares 20%
An ETF investing in U.S. real estate equities.
- VTIVanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF 20%
An ETF investing across the U.S. equity market.
Where this allocation comes fromMebane Faber and Eric Richardson · The Ivy Portfolio · 2009
Also known as: The Ivy Portfolio · Mebane Faber Ivy Portfolio · Simple Ivy Portfolio · Ivy 5
US stocks, foreign stocks, bonds, REITs and commodities at 20% each: the Harvard and Yale endowment idea in five ETFs.
| Asset in the source | Weight | Lifolio ETF |
|---|---|---|
| US total stock market | 20% | VTI |
| International stocks (all-world ex-US) | 20% | VEU |
| US aggregate bonds | 20% | BND |
| US REITs | 20% | VNQ |
| Commodities | 20% | DBC |
Uses the book's ETF table (VTI, VEU, BND, VNQ, DBC). This is the buy-and-hold version, not the 10-month moving-average timing version the book also describes.
Source: books.google.com mebfaber.com portfoliocharts.com
Lifolio is not affiliated with or endorsed by the people or organizations cited. Figures are historical simulations under Lifolio's standard conditions. Sources checked 2026-11-01.
Questions & methodology
What does the Ivy Portfolio hold?
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund ETF Shares (BND): An ETF investing across the U.S. bond market. Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund (DBC) Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Fund ETF Shares (VEU) Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund ETF Shares (VNQ): An ETF investing in U.S. real estate equities. Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI): An ETF investing across the U.S. equity market.
What were the return and risk of the Ivy Portfolio?
From 2021.10 to 2026.10, the annualized return was +7.0% and the largest month-end drawdown was -16.9%. The Sharpe ratio (return for the risk) is 0.32.
How did it compare with holding SPY alone?
From 2021.10 to 2026.10, the annualized return was +7.0% for these weights and +12.0% for SPY. Over the same window the largest month-end drawdown was -16.9% for these weights and -23.9% for SPY.
How far did the Ivy Portfolio fall, and how long did it take to get back?
Over the selected 5 years, the largest month-end decline was -16.9%, from a high in 2022.03 to a low in 2022.09. It regained the old high 18 months after the low.
Are dividends, taxes and exchange rates included?
Dividends are reinvested and results are in USD. Taxes, currency moves against your home currency and trading fees are not included. These results use US-listed ETFs; Korea-listed ETFs such as KODEX and TIGER can be added in the backtest.
The server calculates portfolio examples and actual user allocations with the same period, starting balance and settings. Validated metrics and their supporting charts are shown together.
Price data through: 2026.10.30