The classic 60/40 portfolio is quietly becoming an 80/15/5
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on September 23, 2026.
Bloomberg's ETF analyst says the bond sleeve investors think they own has quietly shrunk to 16% of ETF assets, with buffers, covered calls and gold/bitcoin taking the slack.
The 60/40 is more like 80/15/5 today as fixed income ETFs now make up only 16% of total ETF assets, down from 23% in 2020. Further, they only make up 10% of new launches. Equities are 80% and then buffers, covered call and gold/btc are crowbarring their way in with the remainder. https://t.co/zPz1GpVmtF
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Fixed income ETFs now account for only 16% of total ETF assets, down from 23% in 2020, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. That shift is significant enough that the traditional 60/40 stock-bond split no longer reflects what investors actually hold in ETF form.
Equity ETFs have expanded to claim 80% of total ETF assets, leaving the bond sleeve that many investors believe anchors their portfolio far smaller than the label suggests. The practical implication is that portfolios built on ETFs carry meaningfully more equity risk than a 60/40 framing implies.
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The product pipeline reinforces the trend rather than correcting it. Fixed income ETFs make up only 10% of new launches, meaning the gap between equities and bonds is likely to widen further as new money flows into freshly listed funds.
The remaining slice, roughly 5% by Balchunas's framing, is being claimed by buffer ETFs, covered call strategies, and funds tied to gold and bitcoin. These categories are crowding into the space that bonds once occupied, offering income or downside protection through very different mechanisms than traditional fixed income.