A monthly mix of gold (GLD) and the U.S. dollar (UUP), tilted toward whichever has been calmer recently, to act as a simple volatility hedge without the costs and drag of VIX futures.

Each month it splits your money between two funds: GLD (tracks gold) and UUP (benefits when the U.S. dollar strengthens vs major currencies). It looks at about a month of recent price swings and puts more in the calmer one. Then it rebalances monthly. This pairing aims to steady a stock portfolio during market stress without using VIX futures.

Two-asset defensive sleeve (GLD/UUP) delivers superior risk-adjusted returns: oos Sharpe ~2.05, Calmar ~3.43, max drawdown ~3.3% vs S&P ~22%. Lower beta and steady performance provide durable ballast with competitive returns.