History
Paul Merriman's Ultimate Buy and Hold approach popularized diversified equity tilts.
Philosophy
Capture broad equity and factor premia while retaining real-estate diversification.
Factor / QuantGrowthFactor basedGrowthHigh complexity
Ultimate Buy & Hold REIT Variant
A Merriman-style tilted equity portfolio with a dedicated REIT allocation.
Asset allocation
US Stocks
30%International Stocks
25%Small Cap Value
20%Value Stocks
15%REITs
10%Performance
How this allocation behaved across modern markets
Annual rebalancing, local bond and cash proxies where relevant, and optional inflation adjustment through CPI.
1970-2024Log scale
CAGR
10.0%
1970-2024
Max drawdown
-36.4%
Volatility
15.8%
Worst year
-36.4%
2008
Implementation
Local products and proxies
🌐 Ultimate Buy & Hold REIT 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
Merriman Four-Fund Portfolio
A simplified Merriman portfolio emphasizing small-cap value and diversification.
US Stocks25%
Small Cap Value25%
International Stocks25%
Emerging Markets25%
Open atlas entry
Ultimate Buy and Hold
Paul Merriman's highly diversified equity portfolio with factor tilts.
Small Cap Value30%
International Stocks30%
US Stocks20%
Emerging Markets10%
Bonds10%
Open atlas entry
Multi-Factor Portfolio
A diversified factor portfolio combining value, quality, momentum and size.
Value Stocks25%
Quality Stocks25%
Momentum Stocks25%
Small Cap Value25%
Open atlas entry
Fama-French Factor Portfolio
A practical investable interpretation of the Fama-French factor framework, combining broad market beta with diversified size and value tilts across US and international equities.
US Total Market40%
US Small Cap Value25%
US Large Cap Value15%
International Developed Value10%
International Small Cap Value10%
Open atlas entry
Frank Armstrong Ideal Index
A Frank Armstrong-style index portfolio with equity slices, international stocks, REITs and short bonds.
International Stocks31%
Short Bonds30%
US Stocks16%
Small Cap Value15%
REITs8%
Open atlas entry