Historical Asset Allocation Explorer
Choose a mix of US stocks, bonds, and cash and a period since 1928, and see how it would have grown, its worst year, and how often it lost money, using historical returns.
Asset allocation. How a portfolio is divided among asset classes, such as stocks, bonds, and cash. More on this term, how a portfolio is divided among stocks, bonds, and cash, decides most of how much it swings. Set your own mix and choose a period to see how that mix would have done in the past: its average yearly growth, its best and worst years, and how many years it lost money.
Historical US returns for the S&P 500, 10-year Treasury bonds, and 3-month Treasury bills, from 1928 to 2025, from Damodaran's dataset.1 Rebalanced yearly, before fees and taxes. The dollar figures aren't adjusted for inflation, so a dollar at the end of a long period bought far less than one at the start. This is a way to explore history, not a forecast or a recommendation for any mix.
Things to try
- Compare 100% stocks with 60/40 from 1928, then from 2000 to 2025 alone.
- Look at the worst year for each mix and ask whether you could have held on through it.
- Move part of the mix to cash and watch both the worst year and the average growth shrink.
What history can't tell you
The past century of US markets is one path among many that could have happened, and the next decades will be different. Use the explorer to understand the tradeoff between growth and swings, not to predict returns.
The lessons behind it
- Asset AllocationPart 5: Building a Portfolio
- DiversificationPart 5: Building a Portfolio · Free
- Drawdowns and the Math of RecoveryPart 5: Building a Portfolio
Notes and sources
- Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern School of Business. Historical Returns on Stocks, Bonds and Bills, with annual data through 2025 (updated January 2026). Checked 2026-10-12. Back to text