Steady Growth · The smoothest path to compound growth
Compound without the gut-punches.
Engineered for the smoothest path to long-term growth — the mix automatically dials down risk when markets get wild. For the investor whose rule is: I want to grow my money without the stress.
This is the US implementation, in US dollars. See the Canadian implementation →
- Backtested return
- 7.53%/yr
- Worst drop
- -14.96%
- Sharpe ratio
- 0.99
- Years tested
- 24
Backtested on actual historical ETF data from June 2002, computed by the open-source Boutquin.Trading engine (as of 2026-09-25). Benchmark: an equal split of stocks, bonds, gold, and cash, which earned 6.81%. Backtested performance is hypothetical and is not indicative of future results. Backtested 2002-06 to 2026-09.
Why it works
Your money is balanced across broad US stocks, long-term Treasury bonds, inflation-protected bonds, gold, and trend-following funds — five assets that tend to rise and fall at different times. When market volatility spikes, the mix automatically scales back risk. Over 24 years of testing, it earned 7.53% per year (essentially matching the 6.81% of an equal split of stocks, bonds, gold, and cash) with a worst drop of -14.96% — about 34% shallower.
The trade-off
You won’t ride stock-market booms as hard — the smoothness is what lets the compounding do its work. This Blueprint is designed for steady, lower-stress growth, not maximum upside.
What’s inside the Blueprint
Plain-English asset classes by current emphasis — Core, Significant, or Diversifier. The exact ETF tickers and target percentages, in a US or Canadian implementation, are in the subscriber view.
- Trend-following fundsCore
- Broad US stocksCore
- GoldSignificant
- Inflation-protected bondsSignificant
- Long-term Treasury bondsDiversifier
Current weighting as of 2026-09-25 — emphasis tiers, not exact weights.
Construction: Hierarchical Risk Parity with volatility targeting on a denoised covariance estimate — the mix re-derives every quarter from fresh market data, not a fixed weighting set once and forgotten.
See the full Blueprint — exact tickers, percentages, and backtests.
Steady Growth is available on the Explorer tier (one Blueprint of your choice) and on Builder and Decumulator (all four). Start free with the IQ Score to see which archetype fits your general profile.
Important disclaimers
Educational content only. ETFWealthIQ provides financial education only. Model portfolios are illustrative examples presented for educational purposes and are not personalized investment recommendations. ETFWealthIQ is not a registered investment adviser, portfolio manager, or financial planner. Past performance of model portfolios does not guarantee future results. Before making any investment decision, consult with a qualified financial professional who understands your individual circumstances, goals, and risk tolerance.
Backtested results. All historical performance data represents backtested results computed by open-source software (Boutquin.Trading) using actual historical index and ETF return data. Backtested performance is hypothetical and does not represent actual trading. The source code used to generate these results is publicly available for audit. Actual investment results may differ materially. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Open-source software. The Boutquin.Trading backtesting engine is open-source software provided under the Apache License, Version 2.0. It is a general-purpose research tool. Use of this software to make investment decisions is at your own risk. The software authors and ETFWealthIQ are not responsible for any losses incurred.