Golden Butterfly Portfolio
The Golden Butterfly Portfolio is a variation of the Permanent Portfolio designed to provide a steady stream of returns in any market environment. Its assets are similar to the ones of the permanent portfolio but with the inclusion of small-cap value stocks.
Asset Allocation
| Position | Category/Sector | Target Weight |
|---|---|---|
GLD SPDR Gold Trust | Precious Metals, Gold | 20% |
IJS iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Value ETF | Small Cap Value Equities | 20% |
SHY iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF | Government Bonds | 20% |
TLT iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF | Government Bonds | 20% |
VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | Large Cap Growth Equities | 20% |
Performance
Performance Chart
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The earliest data available for this chart is Nov 18, 2004, corresponding to the inception date of GLD
Returns By Period
As of May 17, 2025, the Golden Butterfly Portfolio returned 3.34% Year-To-Date and 6.79% of annualized return in the last 10 years.
| YTD | 1M | 6M | 1Y | 5Y* | 10Y* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
^GSPC S&P 500 | 1.30% | 12.94% | 1.49% | 12.48% | 15.82% | 10.87% |
| Golden Butterfly Portfolio | 3.34% | 3.75% | 2.95% | 9.77% | 7.57% | 6.79% |
| Portfolio components: | ||||||
SHY iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF | 1.82% | -0.08% | 2.45% | 5.23% | 1.03% | 1.39% |
TLT iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF | 0.21% | -1.92% | -2.13% | -2.28% | -9.95% | -0.59% |
VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | 1.31% | 13.31% | 1.46% | 13.20% | 17.04% | 12.18% |
IJS iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Value ETF | -8.44% | 13.91% | -10.83% | -1.07% | 15.83% | 6.89% |
GLD SPDR Gold Trust | 21.52% | -4.30% | 24.37% | 33.73% | 12.44% | 9.79% |
Monthly Returns
The table below presents the monthly returns of Golden Butterfly Portfolio, with color gradation from worst to best to easily spot seasonal factors. Returns are adjusted for dividends.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2.49% | 0.18% | -0.53% | -0.32% | 1.52% | 3.34% | |||||||
| 2024 | -1.53% | 1.11% | 3.29% | -2.94% | 2.86% | 0.53% | 4.79% | 1.12% | 2.18% | -0.86% | 3.28% | -3.53% | 10.39% |
| 2023 | 6.60% | -3.04% | 2.00% | 0.02% | -1.58% | 2.54% | 1.94% | -2.21% | -4.74% | -1.36% | 6.25% | 5.91% | 12.16% |
| 2022 | -3.34% | 0.81% | -0.36% | -5.49% | -0.58% | -4.08% | 3.62% | -3.27% | -6.49% | 2.92% | 4.99% | -2.54% | -13.64% |
| 2021 | -0.18% | 0.59% | 0.92% | 2.57% | 2.44% | -0.36% | 0.75% | 0.83% | -2.45% | 2.62% | -0.41% | 1.77% | 9.36% |
| 2020 | 1.26% | -2.03% | -5.20% | 7.15% | 1.84% | 1.82% | 4.73% | 1.38% | -2.56% | -0.44% | 5.61% | 3.78% | 17.96% |
| 2019 | 4.87% | 1.26% | 0.28% | 1.16% | -1.58% | 4.76% | 0.59% | 2.45% | 0.09% | 1.17% | 0.59% | 1.27% | 18.06% |
| 2018 | 1.25% | -2.61% | 0.60% | -0.21% | 1.98% | -0.23% | 0.44% | 1.25% | -1.30% | -3.60% | 1.00% | -1.68% | -3.23% |
| 2017 | 1.39% | 1.99% | -0.32% | 1.01% | 0.12% | 0.48% | 0.89% | 1.05% | 0.93% | 0.38% | 1.55% | 0.94% | 10.90% |
| 2016 | 0.04% | 3.38% | 2.82% | 1.44% | -0.71% | 3.50% | 2.63% | -0.61% | 0.06% | -2.66% | 0.22% | 0.74% | 11.19% |
| 2015 | 2.22% | -0.46% | -0.19% | -0.96% | 0.07% | -1.35% | -0.60% | -1.62% | -1.13% | 3.27% | -0.89% | -1.69% | -3.40% |
| 2014 | 0.64% | 3.24% | -0.16% | 0.08% | 0.57% | 2.44% | -2.03% | 2.78% | -3.25% | 1.97% | 1.13% | 1.37% | 8.93% |
Expense Ratio
Golden Butterfly Portfolio has an expense ratio of 0.20%, which is considered low. Below, you can find the expense ratios of the portfolio's funds side by side and easily compare their relative costs.
Risk-Adjusted Performance
Risk-Adjusted Performance Rank
The current rank of Golden Butterfly Portfolio is 73, indicating average performance compared to other portfolios on our website. Here’s a breakdown of how it compares using common performance measures.
Risk-Adjusted Performance Indicators
This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for positions. Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.
| Sharpe ratio | Sortino ratio | Omega ratio | Calmar ratio | Martin ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SHY iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF | 3.16 | 5.38 | 1.69 | 5.52 | 15.13 |
TLT iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF | -0.16 | -0.00 | 1.00 | -0.02 | -0.13 |
VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | 0.66 | 1.12 | 1.17 | 0.74 | 2.80 |
IJS iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Value ETF | -0.04 | 0.11 | 1.01 | -0.04 | -0.11 |
GLD SPDR Gold Trust | 1.90 | 2.66 | 1.34 | 4.30 | 11.04 |
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Dividends
Dividend yield
Golden Butterfly Portfolio provided a 2.31% dividend yield over the last twelve months.
| TTM | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | 2.31% | 2.25% | 1.85% | 1.42% | 0.89% | 0.97% | 1.56% | 1.63% | 1.31% | 1.29% | 1.34% | 1.24% |
| Portfolio components: | ||||||||||||
SHY iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF | 3.96% | 3.92% | 2.99% | 1.30% | 0.24% | 0.94% | 2.12% | 1.72% | 0.98% | 0.71% | 0.54% | 0.36% |
TLT iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF | 4.39% | 4.30% | 3.38% | 2.67% | 1.50% | 1.50% | 2.27% | 2.63% | 2.43% | 2.60% | 2.61% | 2.67% |
VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF | 1.28% | 1.27% | 1.44% | 1.67% | 1.21% | 1.42% | 1.78% | 2.04% | 1.71% | 1.92% | 1.98% | 1.76% |
IJS iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Value ETF | 1.95% | 1.78% | 1.42% | 1.47% | 1.52% | 1.00% | 1.66% | 1.75% | 1.41% | 1.22% | 1.59% | 1.41% |
GLD SPDR Gold Trust | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
Drawdowns
Drawdowns Chart
The Drawdowns chart displays portfolio losses from any high point along the way. Drawdowns are calculated considering price movements and all distributions paid, if any.
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Worst Drawdowns
The table below displays the maximum drawdowns of the Golden Butterfly Portfolio. A maximum drawdown is a measure of risk, indicating the largest reduction in portfolio value due to a series of losing trades.
The maximum drawdown for the Golden Butterfly Portfolio was 20.32%, occurring on Nov 20, 2008. Recovery took 205 trading sessions.
The current Golden Butterfly Portfolio drawdown is 0.51%.
Depth | Start | To Bottom | Bottom | To Recover | End | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -20.32% | May 21, 2008 | 129 | Nov 20, 2008 | 205 | Sep 16, 2009 | 334 |
| -19.59% | Nov 10, 2021 | 238 | Oct 20, 2022 | 431 | Jul 11, 2024 | 669 |
| -15.83% | Feb 24, 2020 | 18 | Mar 18, 2020 | 53 | Jun 3, 2020 | 71 |
| -8.35% | May 11, 2006 | 24 | Jun 14, 2006 | 102 | Nov 7, 2006 | 126 |
| -8.28% | Jan 23, 2015 | 249 | Jan 19, 2016 | 48 | Mar 29, 2016 | 297 |
Volatility
Volatility Chart
The chart below shows the rolling one-month volatility.
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Diversification
Diversification Metrics
Number of Effective Assets
The portfolio contains 5 assets, with an effective number of assets of 5.00, reflecting the diversification based on asset allocation. This number of effective assets indicates a moderate level of diversification, where some assets may have a more significant influence on overall performance.
Asset Correlations Table
| ^GSPC | GLD | SHY | TLT | IJS | VTI | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ^GSPC | 1.00 | 0.06 | -0.20 | -0.26 | 0.82 | 0.99 | 0.73 |
| GLD | 0.06 | 1.00 | 0.24 | 0.18 | 0.06 | 0.07 | 0.50 |
| SHY | -0.20 | 0.24 | 1.00 | 0.60 | -0.19 | -0.19 | 0.13 |
| TLT | -0.26 | 0.18 | 0.60 | 1.00 | -0.26 | -0.26 | 0.15 |
| IJS | 0.82 | 0.06 | -0.19 | -0.26 | 1.00 | 0.85 | 0.77 |
| VTI | 0.99 | 0.07 | -0.19 | -0.26 | 0.85 | 1.00 | 0.75 |
| Portfolio | 0.73 | 0.50 | 0.13 | 0.15 | 0.77 | 0.75 | 1.00 |
AI Insight on Diversification
The portfolio is moderately diversified, showing a mix of low and moderate correlations among its individual positions. The correlation matrix reveals that the two equity components, VTI (Total Stock Market ETF) and IJS (Small-Cap Value ETF), are highly correlated at 0.85, indicating a strong overlap in their market exposure, which could reduce diversification benefits within the equity portion. Conversely, the correlations between GLD (Gold ETF) and the equity positions (VTI and IJS) are quite low (0.07 and 0.06 respectively), and similarly low correlations exist between GLD and the bond positions (SHY and TLT), which supports diversification by including an asset class that behaves differently from stocks and bonds.
The bond components SHY (Short-Term Treasury ETF) and TLT (Long-Term Treasury ETF) have a moderate correlation of 0.6, reflecting their shared fixed income nature but differing duration risk. This moderate correlation helps balance risk without excessive overlap. The portfolio’s overall correlation with individual positions shows that it is most correlated with the equity positions (0.75 with VTI and 0.77 with IJS), indicating that equities dominate the portfolio’s risk and return profile. GLD has a moderate correlation with the portfolio at 0.5, while SHY and TLT have low correlations (0.13 and 0.15), suggesting their roles are more defensive or diversifying.
In summary, while the portfolio benefits from including distinct asset classes like gold and bonds that have low correlations with equities, the high correlation between the two equity ETFs suggests some concentration risk within the equity allocation. The portfolio is not overly concentrated but leans heavily on equities for its overall behavior, with bonds and gold providing diversification and risk mitigation.