U-BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive Overview

Results over the full published history, 1980 to September 2026. Net of trading friction.
CAGR15.7%
Maximum drawdown-21.3%
MAR ratio0.74
History46 years (561 months)

U-BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive is a UCITS version of Keller & Keuning's BAA Aggressive, for investors outside the United States who buy UCITS funds rather than US-listed ETFs.

The rules are unchanged: the same four canaries and defensive playbook as BAA Balanced, but when the canaries are healthy it puts the whole portfolio into the single strongest of four offensive assets. The full logic is on the BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive page. Because only the funds that hold each position change, the backtest is identical to the original's, month for month.

The UCITS Funds

RoleFundTicker (London, USD)GBP lineISIN
Nasdaq 100iShares Nasdaq 100 UCITS ETF (Acc)CNDXCNX1IE00B53SZB19
Developed markets ex USXtrackers MSCI World ex USA UCITS ETF 1CEXUSXMWXIE0006WW1TQ4
Emerging marketsiShares MSCI EM UCITS ETF (Acc)IEMASEMAIE00B4L5YC18
CommoditiesInvesco Bloomberg Commodity UCITS ETF (Acc)CMODCMOPIE00BD6FTQ80
Investment grade bondsiShares $ Corp Bond UCITS ETF (Acc)LQDAnoneIE00BYXYYJ35
U.S. aggregate bondsiShares US Aggregate Bond UCITS ETF (Acc)IUAAnoneIE00BYXYYM63
U.S. TIPSiShares $ TIPS UCITS ETF (Acc)IDTPITPSIE00B1FZSC47
Long TreasuriesiShares $ Treasury Bond 20+yr UCITS ETF (Acc)DTLAnoneIE00BFM6TC58
Intermediate TreasuriesiShares $ Treasury Bond 7-10yr UCITS ETF (Acc)CBU0noneIE00B3VWN518
Short Treasuries (T-bills)iShares $ Treasury Bond 0-1yr UCITS ETF (Acc)IB01noneIE00BGSF1X88

How Closely the Funds Match

  • Same or near-identical index. For most positions the UCITS fund tracks the same index, or the same index family, as the US fund it replaces.
  • Developed markets ex US is held through an MSCI World ex USA fund, which holds large and mid caps only and leaves out South Korea; the US fund also holds small caps and Korea. The UCITS fund launched in 2024.
  • Commodities are held through a Bloomberg Commodity index fund in place of the US fund's optimum-yield index, so returns will differ somewhat.
  • Cash is held as a US T-bill fund in US dollars.

Performance Highlights

January 1980 through September 2026, net of trading friction:

CAGRMax DrawdownUlcer IndexUPI
U-BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive+15.7%-21.3%5.971.93
BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive+15.7%-21.3%5.971.93
S&P 500+12.0%-51.0%12.720.61

The Ulcer Index measures how deep and how long drawdowns were, not just the single worst one: lower is better. UPI (Ulcer Performance Index) is return above T-bills per unit of Ulcer Index: higher is better.

Notes for Investors Outside the US

  • Results are in US dollars. The strategy is calculated on the history of the equivalent US funds, in US dollars. If you measure your portfolio in pounds, euros or another currency, your results will also move with the exchange rate.
  • Why UCITS funds. Irish-domiciled UCITS funds are the standard way for non-US investors to hold US markets. They often receive US dividends at a lower withholding rate than a non-US investor holding US-listed ETFs directly would, and they are not US assets for US estate tax purposes. Rules vary by country, so check with a tax adviser where you live.
  • Listings. The tickers above are the London Stock Exchange USD lines unless noted. Most of the funds also trade in London in pounds and on European exchanges in euros, under the same ISIN, which is the surest way to find the right fund at any broker.

Who It's For

U-BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive is for investors outside the US who accept full concentration in one asset at a time in exchange for BAA's defensive discipline, held in a tax-advantaged account where possible, built from UCITS funds.


Past performance, including backtested results, is not indicative of future results. Backtested performance is hypothetical, does not reflect actual trading, and benefits from hindsight in the selection of strategy rules. U-BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive is calculated on the history of the equivalent US-listed funds; the UCITS funds track the same or closely matching indexes but their returns will differ, including from fees, tax treatment and currency. Portions of the long-term history rely on reconstructed proxy data for funds that did not exist for the full period. Investors should carefully consider their risk tolerance and consult with a financial advisor.

For the latest details, visit www.DualMomentumSystems.com

Performance in detail

Growth of $10,000 (log scale)

Drawdown from previous high

Calendar-year returns

Selected range Jan 1980 to Sep 2026

PortfolioCAGRMax DDUlcerUPISortinoMAR
U-BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive15.7%-21.3%5.971.932.320.74
BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive15.7%-21.3%5.971.932.320.74
S&P 50012.0%-51.0%12.720.611.300.24
60/4010.0%-32.3%6.120.951.720.31

What the record shows

From Jan 1980 through Sep 2026, U-BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive compounded at 15.7% a year after trading costs. $10,000 invested at the start grew to about $9,241,372.

That is 0.0 points a year more than BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive, its default benchmark, over the same months, and it trailed BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive in all 5 decades in the record.

Its deepest decline was 21.3%, from a peak in Feb 2000 to a low in Sep 2000, and it was back to its old high by May 2003.

Return is only half the picture. The Ulcer Performance Index measures return against the depth and length of drawdowns, and on it U-BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive scores 1.93, essentially level with BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive at 1.93.

In the 195 months the S&P 500 fell, U-BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive still made money in 53% of them.

Since 2000

The modern half of the record, with the dot-com bust, 2008, the long zero-rate decade and the 2022 rate shock all inside it.

Jan 2000 to Sep 2026CAGRMax DDUlcerUPISortinoMAR
U-BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive13.1%-21.3%6.111.841.860.61
BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive13.1%-21.3%6.111.841.860.61
S&P 5008.1%-51.0%15.890.390.880.16
60/406.6%-32.3%7.620.621.110.20

Return by decade

Annual return1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s*
U-BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive+20.2%+18.5%+19.7%+11.0%+7.0%
BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive+20.2%+18.5%+19.7%+11.0%+7.0%
S&P 500+17.0%+18.1%-1.0%+12.9%+15.3%
60/40+15.5%+14.0%+2.1%+9.4%+9.4%

* Partial decade, annualized over the months available.

Through the hard stretches

Total return over each period, start of the first month to the end of the last.

PeriodU-KK-BAA-AKK-BAA-AS&P 50060/40
1987 crashSep 1987 to Nov 1987+2.8%+2.8%-29.8%-17.7%
Dot-com bear marketSep 2000 to Sep 2002+4.6%+4.6%-44.8%-23.5%
Global financial crisisNov 2007 to Feb 2009+7.8%+7.8%-51.0%-32.3%
COVID crashFeb 2020 to Mar 2020+4.8%+4.8%-19.6%-11.9%
2022 rate shockJan 2022 to Dec 2022+1.6%+1.6%-18.2%-15.9%

How it behaves month to month

Since Jan 1980Worst 12 monthsPositive monthsPositive when S&P 500 fellCorrelation to S&P 500
U-BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive-17.2%68%53%0.32
BAA - Bold Asset Allocation - Aggressive-17.2%68%53%0.32
60/40-27.5%67%10%0.98

Every figure is net of trading costs and computed from the same monthly data as the rest of the site, over the months all the portfolios shown have in common (Jan 1980 to Sep 2026). Returns before an ETF's launch come from a matching index, as explained in where the data comes from. Backtests are hypothetical and are not a promise of future results.