History
David Swensen popularized diversified endowment portfolios with real assets and global equities.
Philosophy
Preserve the endowment-style structure while leaning into tangible assets.
Institutional & Network CapitalEndowment modelEndowment / InstitutionalDiversificationEndowment styleModerateMedium complexity
Swensen Real Assets Variant
A Swensen-inspired endowment allocation with a larger real-estate and inflation-linked bond sleeve.
Asset allocation
US Stocks
30%International Stocks
20%REITs
20%TIPS
15%Bonds
15%Performance
How this allocation behaved across modern markets
Annual rebalancing, local bond and cash proxies where relevant, and optional inflation adjustment through CPI.
2004-2024Log scale
CAGR
7.9%
2004-2024
Max drawdown
-23.8%
Volatility
11.7%
Worst year
-23.8%
2008
Implementation
Local products and proxies
Global · Swensen Real Assets Variant implementation
Long-term individual investor
Use broad, low-cost funds or ETFs matching each asset class.
Account notes: Implementation depends on local account types and tax wrappers.
Costs: Prefer low-cost, liquid vehicles.
Rebalancing: Annual rebalancing or tolerance bands.
Tax: Country-specific tax treatment should be reviewed before implementation.
Product names are implementation examples for research. Availability, taxation, share classes and suitability should be checked with the investor's broker and tax situation.
Similar portfolios
Adjacent ideas in the atlas
Swensen Portfolio
A liquid retail adaptation of David Swensen’s Yale endowment philosophy, combining public equities, real estate, long bonds and inflation-linked bonds.
US Stocks30%
REITs20%
International Stocks15%
Long Bonds15%
Others20%
7Twelve Portfolio
A highly diversified multi-asset portfolio with 12 equally weighted sleeves across seven asset groups, designed to smooth returns across economic regimes.
US Stocks8.3%
International Developed Stocks8.3%
Emerging Markets Stocks8.3%
US Bonds8.3%
Others66.6%
Harvard Endowment Model
A large institutional endowment model emphasizing scale, external managers, alternatives, private equity and broad global diversification.
US Stocks20%
International Stocks20%
Bonds20%
REITs15%
Others25%
Ivy Portfolio
A simplified ETF-based portfolio designed to replicate endowment-style diversification using liquid assets.
US Stocks20%
International Stocks20%
Bonds20%
REITs20%
Commodities20%
Yale Endowment Model
The institutional endowment model that popularized long-horizon diversification, manager selection and heavy use of alternatives.
International Stocks20%
Cash20%
US Stocks15%
REITs15%
Others30%