The annual Asset Allocation Contest is back for 2026, sponsored by the Investment and Risk Management (IRM) Community.
The Asset Allocation Contest has been a recurring feature of the SOA’s former Investment Section for more than a decade. The IRM Community is proud to continue this tradition with this year’s competition. The competition provides community members with a practical way to explore portfolio construction and compare investment strategies with their peers, not to mention all the bragging rights, plus a cash prize for the top three participants in each competition at the end of the contest period.
This year’s contest will begin on Nov. 1, 2026, following the SOA ImpACT Conference, and run through April 30, 2027. Participants can register and select their portfolios during the official entry period that opens Oct. 1, 2026, and closes Oct. 31, 2026.
As in prior years, the 2026 competition will feature three distinct contests, each designed around a different investment objective. Participants are encouraged to enter a portfolio in all three and see how their investment strategy performs under different measures of success.
Three Ways to Compete
- Maximize Risk-Adjusted Alpha: Can you outperform a broad market benchmark without simply taking on more risk? The objective of this contest is to generate the highest risk-adjusted alpha relative to a benchmark consisting of 60% equities (all country) and 40% fixed income (U.S. aggregate), rebalanced monthly. A portfolio’s return is evaluated relative to the benchmark after adjusting the benchmark's return to reflect the portfolio’s realized volatility. This contest rewards participants who can identify an allocation that delivers attractive returns relative to the amount of risk taken.
- Maximize Accumulation: How much can your portfolio grow? The goal of this contest is to maximize the value of your portfolio over the contest period in absolute terms, subject to minimum diversification constraints set out in the contest rules.
- Manage Drawdown Risk: How long can your portfolio survive? This contest introduces a retirement decumulation challenge. Each portfolio begins with $100,000, but $900 is withdrawn at the end of each trading day, with the withdrawal taken from the portfolio holdings on a weighted average basis. The objective is to maximize the lifetime of the portfolio. If a portfolio is exhausted before the end of the contest, its performance is determined by when it runs out. If multiple portfolios remain positive through the end of the contest, the portfolio with the highest remaining value wins.
Standings are made available to all participants monthly during the contest period. The specific ETF lineup and additional contest details are available on the contest page on the SOA website.
Whether your focus is risk-adjusted performance, long-term accumulation, managing portfolio longevity, or you want to try your skill at all three, the 2026 Asset Allocation Contest offers an exciting opportunity to test out your skills and see how your allocation stacks up against your fellow actuaries.
Register and select your portfolios during the official entry period that opens on Oct. 1, 2026 and closes Oct. 31, 2026.
This article is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Neither the Society of Actuaries nor the respective authors’ employers make any endorsement, representation or guarantee with regard to any content, and disclaim any liability in connection with the use or misuse of any information provided herein. This article should not be construed as professional or financial advice. Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries or the respective authors’ employers.
Balraj Chahal, FSA, CFA, FCIA, is a vice president, institutional investment solutions, with TD Asset Management. Balraj can be contacted at balraj.chahal@gmail.com.