A rules-based “all weather” portfolio that spreads money across many asset types, buys them only when their trends look healthy, and otherwise hides in short-term Treasuries. Its stock portion can also turn defensive or bet against the Nasdaq.

This strategy splits money across several “buckets”: stocks, bonds, gold, commodities, the U.S. dollar, and consumer staples. For most buckets, it asks a simple question: “Is this area trending up?” If yes, it buys it. If not, it parks that slice in very short-term Treasury funds (a cash-like hiding place). The stock bucket is more active: in healthy markets it owns the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, but when stocks look weak or overheated it can move to cash, defensive tech, or even funds that bet against the Nasdaq.

Out-of-sample, this strategy shows superior risk-adjusted performance: Sharpe 1.68 vs 1.06, Calmar 1.75, and max drawdown 8.7% vs 18.8% for the S&P. Diversified, trend-following sleeves provide strong downside protection with competitive returns.