The 7Twelve^® Portfolio

7Twelve is a multi-asset balanced portfolio developed by Craig L. Israelsen, Ph.D. in 2008. Unlike a traditional two-asset 60/40 balanced fund, the 7Twelve balanced strategy utilizes multiple asset classes to enhance performance and reduce risk.

The 7 of 7Twelve represents the suggested number of asset classes to include in your portfolio. The Twelve represents the 12 separate mutual funds or exchange traded products to fully represent the 7 asset classes in your 7Twelve portfolio. Our portfolio has approximately a 65/35 allocation: approximately 65% of the portfolio is invested in equity and diversifying assets and about 35% invested in bonds and cash.

Introduction to the 7Twelve Portfolio Read the Article or view the Slide Presentation

Each mutual fund (or "sub-asset") in the 7Twelve strategy is equally weighted, meaning that each fund represents 1/12th of the portfolio. This allocation is maintained by rebalancing the portfolio back to equal portions annually, quarterly or monthly.

7Twelve can represent the "core" of any portfolio. A financial advisor should not be spending time designing a portfolio core for every client. Rather, the advisor should be determining how much of the pre-designed core to utilize for each client and what type of individualized "explore" assets to add around the "core" to best meet the client’s unique needs and circumstances. Using 7Twelve as the core portfolio ingredient can enhance the efficiency of a financial advisor and the portfolio performance for the investor.

The 7Twelve portfolio is a strategic model – meaning that it does not rely on tactical changes. The "core" 7Twelve portfolio is a broadly diversified portfolio with equal allocations to all 12 mutual funds (or ETFs) all of the time. Additionally, there are "age-based" versions of the 7Twelve model where all 12 mutual funds are utilized, but not in equal allocations.

Several suggested documents:

1. Click here to download "An Introduction to 7Twelve." Click here to see 7Twelve Slide Show.
2. Click here to purchase 7Twelve Portfolio Reports.
3. Click here to download Monthly 7Twelve Performance Updates.
4. Click here to download an article about "Benchmarking: The Art of the Science," AAII Journal, November 2019.
5. Click here to download information about 7Twelve Partners.
6. Click here to download a 7Twelve video presentation by Craig Israelsen on the 7Twelve Portfolio, University of Missouri (a YouTube video).
7. Click to download "25-Year Asset Allocation Risk & Return Spectrum – January 2025".
8. Click to download “Historical Performance Metrics for Six Asset Allocation Models, The Journal of Performance Measurement, Summer 2023.
9. Click here to go to the 7Twelve Portfolio Library.