Four doctrines measured against time
In December 2025, an experiment was conducted. Using the COMPANION Protocol—a framework for summoning historical personas through large language models—four of America's founders were convened: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin.
They were asked a question: How should citizens respond to the capture of the republic by concentrated wealth?
What emerged was not abstract philosophy. It was a concrete investment doctrine—a portfolio designed around a single premise: that citizens who own the productive infrastructure of daily life cannot be squeezed by those who control it. The tollkeeper cannot raise the toll if he must also pay it.
"These are the Engines of the Republic. Own them."
— Franklin's Handbill
The Committee identified two categories: Engines of the Republic (companies that make things—turn energy into bread, steel into shelter) and Critical Choke Points (the gates and valves through which commerce must flow). Together, they form the Republic Portfolio.
But doctrine is not proof. A philosophy must be tested against reality—and against the alternatives.
Each carries different assumptions about what matters in building wealth. Only time will reveal which philosophy the market rewards.
Productive ownership as civic act. The Committee's doctrine: own what makes things, own what controls access. Concentrated in infrastructure, industrials, and essential services. The bet is that real assets in real industries will endure what speculation cannot.
The market is the market. Five hundred companies, weighted by size. No philosophy beyond momentum—whatever is largest gets the most weight. The benchmark against which all active strategies are judged. Most fail to beat it.
Dividends as discipline. The Diversified Stock Income Plan—institutional wisdom filtered through yield requirements. Companies must pay shareholders to qualify. The theory: firms that return capital are better stewards of it.
Diversification as defense. Four distinct strategies combined: dividend aristocrats, mid-cap growth, quantitative value, and international exposure. The theory: no single thesis should dominate; spread the bets across styles and geographies.
This is not about declaring a winner after one week—or one month. Markets are noisy. Luck dominates the short term. But over time, signal emerges from noise. We track not just who leads, but how they lead: the steadiness of the climb, the depth of the falls, the character of the returns.
THE DATA FOLLOWS. THE VIGIL CONTINUES.
"Own the Engines. Own the Choke Points."
"The market is the market."
"Dividends as discipline." — The Diversified Stock Income Plan
"The Four Pillars" — Multi-strategy diversification
"The numbers speak, but wisdom listens.
The market moves, but doctrine endures."
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