When you have ever gone down a macro investing rabbit gap, you’ve got in all probability come throughout Ray Dalio. He based Bridgewater Associates, which grew into the most important hedge fund on this planet. He’s a big-picture thinker, not only a stock-picker. He writes about debt cycles, inflation, empires rising and falling, and the way economies transfer in lengthy waves.
In Ideas for Dealing With the Altering World Orderhe explains what he calls the “Massive Cycle.” The thought is easy: nations borrow an excessive amount of, print an excessive amount of cash, currencies weaken, and ultimately the stability of energy shifts. Development rises and falls. Inflation rises and falls. And most buyers get blindsided as a result of they’re positioned for just one atmosphere.
Dalio’s resolution was the “All Climate” portfolio. As a substitute of betting on one final result, construct one thing that may survive virtually something. Now you don’t want tens of millions of {dollars} or hedge fund entry to strive it.
You should purchase the SPDR Bridgewater All Climate ETF (NASDAQ:ALLW) in a daily brokerage account. Right here is the simplified breakdown.
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What’s ALLW?
ALLW is constructed on one thing known as danger parity. That sounds sophisticated, however actually isn’t should you take a while to suppose it over.
A traditional portfolio like 60% shares and 40% bonds would possibly look balanced. However a lot of the danger nonetheless comes from shares. If shares crash, you are feeling it, whereas the bonds don’t do a lot. Threat parity tries to stability danger, not {dollars}.
As a substitute of loading up on shares and a sprinkling in bonds, the technique spreads publicity throughout 4 main constructing blocks: shares for progress, authorities bonds for slowdowns, inflation-linked bonds for rising costs, and commodities for provide shocks.
Then it makes use of a little bit of leverage to scale the entire thing up so returns usually are not too shabby. The result’s a portfolio that’s designed to chug alongside steadily whether or not progress is rising or falling, or inflation is rising or falling.
Since its launch in 2025, ALLW has behaved the best way you’d anticipate. It has not shot the lights out like a pure inventory fund, but it surely has delivered smoother, extra balanced efficiency in comparison with conventional stock-heavy portfolios.
In reality, year-to-date as of February 20, 2026, ALLW is up 7.4% whereas the S&P 500 Index has struggled at simply 0.74%.
What I like about ALLW
First, you’re getting institutional pondering in a easy wrapper. You don’t want to know macro cycles. The mannequin does the work.
Second, it’s diversified in an actual method. You aren’t simply holding international shares. You’re holding many uncorrelated property that reply in a different way to totally different financial shocks.
Third, it’s hands-off. In case you are the kind of investor who doesn’t need to rebalance or guess what the economic system will do subsequent 12 months, ALLW solves that downside in a single ticker.
In case your purpose is sturdiness as an alternative of most upside, that’s highly effective. This makes ALLW particularly engaging for increased internet price buyers.
What I dislike about ALLW
The largest concern is price. The expense ratio is 0.85%. That’s excessive in comparison with plain index ETFs. You’re paying for complexity and Bridgewater’s mental framework.
Second, leverage is concerned. The portfolio publicity is bigger than 100%, at round 188% proper now. Whereas danger is balanced, leverage at all times will increase sensitivity to excessive situations the place every part falls collectively.
Lastly, taxes will be messy in taxable accounts due to capital features distributions. That is higher suited to a registered account like a registered retirement financial savings plan (RRSP), the place you may keep away from the 15% international withholding tax.
ALLW will not be for everybody
In case you are younger, comfy with volatility, and simply need most long-term progress, a low-cost international fairness ETF will in all probability outperform ALLW in uncooked returns over many years.
However if you’d like one thing that’s designed to outlive recessions, inflation spikes, and surprising macro shocks with out fixed tinkering, ALLW is among the cleaner “all-weather” executions accessible.
ALLW represents a special investing philosophy. As a substitute of asking, “What’s going to win subsequent 12 months?” it asks, “What can survive it doesn’t matter what occurs?” For a lot of buyers, that mindset is price contemplating.