What did stocks, bonds and gold deliver over decades?
The asset classes page provides long monthly series for stocks, bonds, money market, commodities, real estate and alternatives, chained from funds, index data and interest rates. That way you see how an asset class behaved over several decades and crises.
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How it works
Most real ETFs only date back to the 2000s. For a view over 50 years, Portfolio Lab chains segments: from launch the tradable fund (costs are already in the price), before that an index (costs are deducted), and for bonds and money market synthetic series, i.e. returns computed from interest rates. Where even that is missing, a proxy steps in: a related series before the actual start.
For each asset class you see which source applies from when, plus CAGR (the average return per year with compounding), volatility (how much returns fluctuate) and max drawdown (the largest decline from a peak). For your selection, the page computes growth, metrics, calendar years and correlations (how closely two series move together, from −1 to +1) from a common start.
Every asset class can be used with “@” as a ticker in the backtest or as a proxy that extends a short ETF history backwards. Long series show how different the decades were: looking back 20 years can give a very different picture than looking back 50.
What a result looks like
Sample dataMade-up sample data, no real prices and no recommendation. Calculated with the same methods as the tool itself.
Inputs in this example
Locked: you can't change the inputs in the preview.
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Create accountOverview · 6 asset classes
From = month end before the first return. Sources: which segment applies from when.
| Asset class | Group | From | years | CAGR | Volatility | Max. drawdown | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global equities | Equities | 12/1969 | 56 | 7.8% | 14.8% | -51% | Index from 1969 · Fund from 2005 |
| Equities emerging markets | Equities | 12/1979 | 46 | 6.6% | 21.8% | -70% | Proxy from 1979 · Index from 1987 · Fund from 2005 |
| Euro bonds | Bonds | 12/1971 | 54 | 4.5% | 6.1% | -15% | Synthetic from 1971 · Fund from 2005 |
| Money market euro | Bonds | 12/1969 | 56 | 3.9% | 0.3% | 0% | Synthetic from 1969 |
| Gold | Precious metals | 12/1970 | 55 | 5.1% | 15.6% | -66% | Index from 1970 · Fund from 2005 |
| Listed real estate | Real estate & infrastructure | 12/1989 | 36 | 7.3% | 16.8% | -41% | Index from 1989 · Fund from 2009 |
Performance (start = 100)
Common period 01/1972 to 12/2025, logarithmic scale.
Key metrics
Risk-free rate: the made-up money market, 3.9% p.a. on average.
| Metric | Global equities | Euro bonds | Gold | Money market euro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End value (start = 100) | 6,227 | 1,075 | 1,296 | 788 |
| CAGR | 8.0% | 4.5% | 4.9% | 3.9% |
| Volatility p.a. | 14.9% | 6.1% | 15.6% | 0.3% |
| Max. drawdown | -51.5% | -15.3% | -66.0% | 0.0% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.33 | 0.12 | 0.14 | – |
| Sortino ratio | 0.50 | 0.19 | 0.20 | – |
| Best year | 61.9% | 15.0% | 38.3% | 6.5% |
| Worst year | -26.3% | -9.7% | -27.1% | 1.4% |
The money market has no Sharpe ratio (“–”): here it is the risk-free rate itself.
Correlation of monthly returns
Monthly returns 01/1972 to 12/2025.
| Global equities | Euro bonds | Gold | Money market euro | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global equities | 1.00 | -0.03 | 0.09 | 0.03 |
| Euro bonds | -0.03 | 1.00 | 0.13 | 0.08 |
| Gold | 0.09 | 0.13 | 1.00 | 0.06 |
| Money market euro | 0.03 | 0.08 | 0.06 | 1.00 |
Assumptions: Six asset classes entirely made up: before 2006 random series with three made-up crises, bonds and money market computed from made-up interest rates, from 2006 the made-up building blocks of the other previews. The TER is deducted in index and synthetic segments.
Frequently asked questions
What is an asset class?
A group of investments with similar properties, e.g. stocks, government bonds, money market, gold or real estate. Within a class returns move similarly, between classes often very differently.
Why are series chained?
Because no ETF is 50 years old. Before the fund comes an index, a synthetic segment from interest rates or a proxy. Which source applies when is shown openly in the overview.
What does synthetic mean?
A return computed from interest rates instead of prices: e.g. a bond that always has ten years left to maturity and is bought anew each month at the current rate, or money invested at the money market rate.
Can I use the asset classes in the backtest?
Yes. Enter an asset class with “@” as a ticker in the portfolio grid or set it as a proxy next to an ETF. The backtest then uses monthly values.
Learn more in the knowledge base
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