Philosophy Opportunity Insights Simulate About Contact

The framework in numbers.

Abstract principles become concrete when you run them. These calculators let you feel the mathematics that underlies the approach — the cost of drawdowns, the power of asymmetric positions, and the amplifying effect of concentrated bets.

Avoiding a loss matters more than finding a gain.

A 40% drawdown doesn't require a 40% recovery. It requires 67%. The arithmetic is asymmetric — losses compound faster than gains unwind them. These two tools show why protecting capital is not defensive thinking. It is the most aggressive long-term strategy available.

Recovery mathematics

Drawdown Recovery Calculator

Portfolio loss −30%
Recovery required
42.9%
Years at 10% p.a.
3.7 yr
Years at 15% p.a.
2.5 yr
Years at 20% p.a.
1.9 yr

Compounding over time

Compounding Simulator — With vs. Without Drawdown

Protected
Unprotected
Annual return 10%
Drawdown depth 35%
Drawdown in year Yr 5
Protected (20yr)
6.7×
Unprotected (20yr)
3.9×
Gap at year 20
−41%
Lost years
4.2 yr

Positions that pay more as conditions worsen.

The Edge is designed to be asymmetric: capped cost, uncapped benefit. A correctly structured put doesn't just protect — it generates capital exactly when other assets are cheapest. These tools show how the payoff shape changes with structure, and how it reshapes the distribution of 20-year outcomes.

Payoff structure

Convexity Payoff Builder — Put Option at Expiry

Portfolio + Put
Unhedged
Strike (% out-of-money) 20% OTM
Annual premium cost 1.5%
Portfolio allocation to puts 5%
Floor (−50% market)
−38%
Annual drag
−0.08%
Max gain in crisis
+310%
Break-even move
−21.5%

Distribution of outcomes

Asymmetry Machine — 20-Year Return Distribution (2,000 simulations)

With tail hedges
Without tail hedges
Losses eliminated by hedge
Hedge strike (OTM) 15%
Annual hedge cost 1.5%
Worst 5% (hedged)
−12%
Worst 5% (unhedged)
−38%
Median outcome (hedged)
4.1×
Simulations with loss
3.2%

Monte Carlo simulation. Assumes lognormal returns, annual rebalancing, tail events at 3× modeled frequency. Results are illustrative.

Position size determines how much the right call matters.

A 2% position in a 10-bagger moves the portfolio by 18%. A 15% position in the same idea moves it by 135%. Diversification limits loss — but it also limits the compounding that only exceptional businesses can deliver. The question is not whether to concentrate, but where to draw the line.

Position size vs. portfolio impact

Concentration Impact Calculator — Single Position Returns

Position size 10%
Position multiple
Portfolio gain
+40%
Portfolio loss (−80%)
−8%
Gain-to-loss ratio
5.0×
Break-even positions
1-in-5 needed

Four architectures through the same storms.

Twenty-five years. Four portfolio structures. The same crashes, the same recoveries — but the compounding gap widens with every cycle. Not because one approach takes more risk, but because avoiding deep drawdowns means never needing a large recovery.

25-year compound growth — indexed to 100 at Jan 2000

Aeternia (parametric model)
Permanent Portfolio
All Weather
60/40

Aeternia model parameters — adjust to see how the thesis holds

Quality edge 1.5%/yr

Annual premium from quality-factor tilt vs. cap-weighted index

Hedge cost 1.5%/yr

Annual drag from systematic put-option overlay on portfolio

Crash payoff 7× cost

What the hedge returns when S&P 500 falls more than 20% in a year

Crisis zoom — % from pre-crisis peak

Peak Mar 2000. S&P fell 49% to trough in Oct 2002.

60/40 computed from S&P 500 total return and Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index annual returns 2000–2024. Permanent Portfolio computed from published 25/25/25/25 allocation (stocks / LT Treasuries / gold / cash). All Weather computed from published allocation (30% stocks · 40% LT bonds · 15% IT bonds · 7.5% gold · 7.5% commodities). Component data from publicly available index returns. Aeternia is a parametric model — not historical data — driven entirely by the sliders above; adjust assumptions to stress-test the thesis. Not a representation of actual or future performance.