Excess Returns · Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Jared Dillian explains that his 'Awesome Portfolio' is an evolution of Harry Brown's Permanent Portfolio. The key difference is the inclusion of real estate, which Dillian believes significantly improves the risk-adjusted returns and reduces volatility compared to the original 25% allocation across stocks, gold, bonds, and cash.
“Why is it not the permanent portfolio? Okay, so this, you know, it's funny, somebody was already, I'm going to hear a lot about this when the book comes out. Like, you know, you're ripping off the permanent portfolio.”
“First of all, like when I came up with this, I barely even knew about the existence of the permanent portfolio. The difference between the two is the addition of real estate.”
“Awesome portfolio adds real estate. And it is a major improvement in the permanent portfolio. The sharp ratio goes way up, the returns go up, the volatility comes down.”