What ETFs are used in this backtest?

VTI 30%, VEA 15%, VWO 5%, VNQ 20%, IEF 15%, TIP 15%, rebalanced annually.

Why hold both Treasuries and TIPS?

Nominal Treasuries help in deflationary conditions and TIPS help against inflation, covering both sides of the interest-rate picture.

How has the Swensen portfolio performed?

Run the backtest above to see its return, volatility, and drawdown over your chosen period.

Free portfolio backtest · 20+ years of data

Swensen (Yale) portfolio backtest

Balancedby David Swensen

See how $10,000 in the Swensen (Yale) portfolio would have grown — real, dividend-adjusted history, rebalanced yearly. No signup.

David Swensen's Yale-inspired portfolio for individuals — global equities, REITs, Treasuries, and TIPS.

Allocation (locked)

VTI · Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF30%
VEA · Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF15%
VWO · Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF5%
VNQ · Vanguard Real Estate ETF20%
IEF · iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF15%
TIP · iShares TIPS Bond ETF15%

Want more than a famous preset? Log in to try our tool — test your own portfolio strategies and study your diversification with our correlation matrices.

Choose a famous portfolio

Start date

End date

Defaults to the last 10 years. Clean, fee-free backtest with annual rebalancing.

Ready to backtest Swensen (Yale)

Pick a date range above (or use the last 10 years) and hit Run backtest.

About the Swensen (Yale) strategy

David Swensen, who ran Yale's endowment, laid out a diversified portfolio for individual investors in his book. It spreads capital across US stocks, developed and emerging international stocks, real estate, Treasuries, and inflation-protected bonds — leaning on equities for growth while diversifying the defensive side.

This backtest uses VTI (30%), VEA (15%), VWO (5%), VNQ (20%), IEF (15%), and TIP (15%), rebalanced annually. The mix of nominal Treasuries and TIPS is deliberate — it hedges both deflationary and inflationary environments.

It suits investors who want an endowment-style, equity-oriented portfolio with meaningful real estate and inflation-protection allocations.

Unlock the full workspace

Go beyond the Swensen (Yale) preset

This public tool runs the famous presets read-only. Log in to unlock the full Awalyt backtesting workspace:

Test your OWN portfolio
Change the assets and weights, run different rebalancing strategies, and compare scenarios — not just the famous presets.
Correlation & diversification analysis
See how your holdings actually move together and whether they truly diversify your risk, quarter by quarter.
AI insights, rebalancing detail & more
Get an AI read on your results, a full rebalance history, tax impact, and save every backtest to your account.

Create a free account

Frequently asked questions

A diversified, equity-oriented allocation from Yale's David Swensen, spanning US and international stocks, real estate, Treasuries, and TIPS.

For educational and informational purposes only. Backtests use split- and dividend-adjusted historical prices with annual rebalancing and no fees, taxes, or slippage; real-world results differ. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Awalyt does not provide investment advice.