How every portfolio fared in the Volcker double-dip

Fed funds near 20% broke inflation but forced back-to-back recessions; equities ground sideways in real terms.

Window 1980-11-28 to 1982-08-12 · six allocations · computed 2026-07-19 with the same engine the app runs. Ranked by real return, best first.

60/40 (stocks/cash)−18.8%Permanent-style−24.3%20% gold tilt−32.3%All equities−36.1%40% gold tilt−36.6%Tangible 60−42.0%
Real return over the window. Green preserved purchasing power; red lost it.
#AllocationReal returnMax drawdownPP ratioRecovery
1 60/40 (stocks/cash) (60% equities · 40% cash) −18.8% −18.8% 0.81× not recovered in window Read
2 Permanent-style (25% gold · 25% equities · 25% cash · 25% commodities) −24.3% −25.0% 0.76× not recovered in window Read
3 20% gold tilt (60% equities · 20% gold · 20% cash) −32.3% −31.9% 0.68× not recovered in window Read
4 All equities (100% equities) −36.1% −36.1% 0.64× not recovered in window Read
5 40% gold tilt (40% gold · 40% equities · 20% cash) −36.6% −37.5% 0.63× not recovered in window Read
6 Tangible 60 (30% gold · 30% equities · 15% silver · 15% commodities · 10% cash) −42.0% −43.7% 0.58× not recovered in window Read

Across this window, 60/40 (stocks/cash) preserved the most real value at −18.8%, while Tangible 60 did the worst at −42.0%. The shallowest real drawdown belonged to 60/40 (stocks/cash) at −18.8%. Returns are real (CPI-deflated), after quarterly rebalancing and physical coin costs.

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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