How every portfolio fared in the 1987 crash
A single-day 22% plunge on Black Monday (October 19); the S&P 500 fell ~33% from its August peak and took under two years to fully recover.
Window 1987-08-25 to 1989-07-26 · six allocations · computed 2026-07-19 with the same engine the app runs. Ranked by real return, best first.
| # | Allocation | Real return | Max drawdown | PP ratio | Recovery | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60/40 (stocks/cash) (60% equities · 40% cash) | −1.0% | −20.6% | 0.99× | not recovered in window | Read |
| 2 | Permanent-style (25% gold · 25% equities · 25% cash · 25% commodities) | −7.5% | −9.7% | 0.92× | not recovered in window | Read |
| 3 | All equities (100% equities) | −7.8% | −34.3% | 0.92× | not recovered in window | Read |
| 4 | 20% gold tilt (60% equities · 20% gold · 20% cash) | −8.6% | −19.8% | 0.91× | not recovered in window | Read |
| 5 | 40% gold tilt (40% gold · 40% equities · 20% cash) | −13.1% | −15.6% | 0.87× | not recovered in window | Read |
| 6 | Tangible 60 (30% gold · 30% equities · 15% silver · 15% commodities · 10% cash) | −17.9% | −18.0% | 0.82× | not recovered in window | Read |
Across this window, 60/40 (stocks/cash) preserved the most real value at −1.0%, while Tangible 60 did the worst at −17.9%. The shallowest real drawdown belonged to Permanent-style at −9.7%. Returns are real (CPI-deflated), after quarterly rebalancing and physical coin costs.
All crisis outcomes Mix profiles Test your own mix
Purchasing-power ratio is real terminal value ÷ real starting value: above 1.00× means the mix ended the window richer in real terms. Sources and definitions: methodology.
Educational estimates, not financial advice