Search found 688 matches

by rocketdog
Sun Apr 13, 2014 3:53 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: The 4% withdrawal rule and taxes
Replies: 6
Views: 3836

Re: The 4% withdrawal rule and taxes

Not that this impacts someone who's purely PP, but I recently read a controversial article titled "Reducing Retirement Risk with a Rising Equity Glide-Path" that makes the argument that retirees should gradually increase their equity positions over time.  This goes against the traditional advice of ...
by rocketdog
Sun Apr 13, 2014 3:45 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Vanguard Vs Fidelity Vs Schwab Vs ETrade Vs Other? Best In Class At What?
Replies: 11
Views: 13795

Re: Vanguard Vs Fidelity Vs Schwab Vs ETrade Vs Other? Best In Class At What?

A mere $10,000 holding would cost an additional $14/year in expenses if held in Schwab's commission free SGOL vs paying the commission and buying IAU. If you have more than 10k to invest in gold ETFs, find a place with low commissions and buy the ETF with the lower expense ratio. True, but you can ...
by rocketdog
Sun Apr 13, 2014 3:24 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: YTD Results of Permanent Portolio with/out Cash
Replies: 17
Views: 12146

Re: YTD Results of Permanent Portolio with/out Cash

Harry Browne Permanent Portfolio http://www.myplaniq.com/LTISystem/jsp/portfolio/ViewPortfolio.action?ID=17551 Harry Browne Permanent Portfolio Without Cash http://www.myplaniq.com/LTISystem/jsp/portfolio/ViewPortfolio.action?ID=38351 That's pretty much what I would have expected to see:  increased...
by rocketdog
Sun Apr 13, 2014 3:21 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Replacing Cash with VWINX, the results look juicy
Replies: 68
Views: 41675

Re: Replacing Cash with VWINX, the results look juicy

You're not restricted from owning both VWINX and VWELX, don't forget.  You can mix and match them to get the blend you want: heavier on VWELX while you're young, then gradually shifting more and more into VWINX as retirement approaches.  Just a thought. 
by rocketdog
Sun Apr 13, 2014 3:18 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: YTD Results of Permanent Portolio with/out Cash
Replies: 17
Views: 12146

Re: YTD Results of Permanent Portolio with/out Cash

Personally, I keep 6 months emergency cash outside my investment accounts, and very little cash inside my investment accounts (5%-10%).  So I don't view the cash sitting in a checking account as being part of my PP.  I don't go 25% cash in my PP because of its weak long-term performance.  I have 15-...
by rocketdog
Sun Apr 13, 2014 3:02 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: What does Draw down mean exactly?
Replies: 5
Views: 3452

Re: What does Draw down mean exactly?

During the accumulation phase, "max draw down" refers to the maximum loss a portfolio or other investment might suffer over some period of time.  Investopedia explains it as follows: Definition of 'Drawdown' The peak-to-trough decline during a specific record period of an investment, fund or commodi...
by rocketdog
Sun Apr 13, 2014 12:03 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Replacing Cash with VWINX, the results look juicy
Replies: 68
Views: 41675

Re: Replacing Cash with VWINX, the results look juicy

You might also look at VWELX.  Not so much for the cash portion of the PP, but for your VP or in a 401k or other retirement account where you can't replicate a PP.  Larger allocation to stocks than VWINX, with slightly higher returns over time.  Both are good "set it and forget it" funds, with low e...
by rocketdog
Sun Feb 16, 2014 4:15 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Pushing your chips "all in" for the PP
Replies: 14
Views: 6401

Re: Pushing your chips "all in" for the PP

I think that the PP book has probably caused a lot of people to go back and read Harry Browne's books as well, which is a really good thing.  Browne had a lot of insightful things to say about investing and the world in general. I recently purchased a (used) copy of each of HB's books on investing....
by rocketdog
Sun Feb 16, 2014 4:10 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Inflation Coming
Replies: 1
Views: 1806

Re: Inflation Coming

Hard assets tend to do well during inflation, like oil (OIL, DBO), real estate (VNQ, VNQI), agriculture (DBA, MOO), and commodities (DBC, USCI).  Stocks also tend to do reasonably well during inflation (VT, VTI).  TIPS are supposed to react positively to inflation (TIP, SCHP), but I guess we'll find...
by rocketdog
Sun Feb 16, 2014 3:54 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: PP implementation: balancing during accumulation phase
Replies: 3
Views: 3396

Re: PP implementation: balancing during accumulation phase

I wrestled with whether to look at all our (my wife and me) retirement accounts as one "overall" account, or whether to treat each account as an island unto itself.  I decided to do the latter, since you can't rebalance between retirement accounts.  It's a lot more work to track, but I feel it gives...
by rocketdog
Sun Feb 16, 2014 3:24 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: How secure is an all ETF PP if a second market crash happens like in 1929?
Replies: 7
Views: 6066

Re: How secure is an all ETF PP if a second market crash happens like in 1929?

If I was just getting ready to create a PP for myself today, I would probably dip a toe into the water by dollar cost-averaging every few months.  Depending on the investing time horizon I was looking at, I'd also change the weightings to be stock-heavy and bond-light... at least for the time being....
by rocketdog
Sun Feb 16, 2014 2:51 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: PP thread at Bogleheads
Replies: 30
Views: 18166

Re: PP thread at Bogleheads

MediumTex wrote: I love you guys.

I feel really blessed to have a group of people who care about me enough to riff on my nickname.
In that event, I should add that I attended my high school prom wearing a Medium Tux. 



Hello?  Is this thing on? 

(cue cricket sound effect)
by rocketdog
Mon Jan 13, 2014 9:38 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: What Happened to PP in 2013?
Replies: 21
Views: 13192

Re: What Happened to PP in 2013?

Kshartle wrote:
rocketdog wrote: I'm writing a novel, which is absorbing what little free time I still had left.  ;)
Would you share the premise?
Sorry, I never talk about my writing projects while I'm working on them.  Not even my wife knows anything about it.  ;D
by rocketdog
Mon Jan 13, 2014 9:37 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: What Happened to PP in 2013?
Replies: 21
Views: 13192

Re: What Happened to PP in 2013?

Which ETFs do you use for your PPs? Traditional PP returned like -2.5%. Did you rebalance at some point, or we're you a little bit stock heavy? Correction: I just went on Schwab.com to see how they calculated our 2013 returns for our Roth IRAs.  According to Schwab my Roth was up 3.82% on the year,...
by rocketdog
Thu Jan 09, 2014 11:59 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: What Happened to PP in 2013?
Replies: 21
Views: 13192

Re: What Happened to PP in 2013?

Hey PPers!  Long time no post!  The last few months have been crazy for me (boss left and still hasn't been replaced, dog had ACL surgery, then I got summoned for grand jury duty, then major projects have me swamped at work).  So I haven't even had time to lurk, but thought I'd post my 2013 portfoli...
by rocketdog
Fri Aug 09, 2013 3:29 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Update on me
Replies: 3
Views: 3135

Update on me

I'm still alive, just totally slammed at work and at home.  Was out of town for a vacation, then a wedding, then a funeral, then a string of 7 different house guest visits (sometimes as many as 5 people staying at once), then my back-up person at work went out on a leave of absence, then my boss qui...
by rocketdog
Sat Jul 13, 2013 9:20 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Foods to Avoid
Replies: 238
Views: 73124

Re: Foods to Avoid

Moderation in all things is the key.  Because too much Omega-3 can create its own set of health problems . Correct. Remember, fish oil is a polyunsaturated oil (PUFA). And PUFAs are highly unstable (as I have been arguing). Therefore, I agree that is better to lower Omega-6 than to raise one's Omeg...
by rocketdog
Mon Jul 08, 2013 4:09 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: HB PP wins in a portfolio shootout on Seeking Alpha
Replies: 3
Views: 2503

HB PP wins in a portfolio shootout on Seeking Alpha

I've been too busy to participate on the forums lately, but I came across this article and wanted to share:

3 Portfolios Inspired By Graham, Swensen, Browne: A Risk Vs. Return Analysis
by rocketdog
Thu Jun 27, 2013 3:14 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Seeking advice: Do I have the wrong approach in my attempt at the PP in my 401k?
Replies: 21
Views: 10261

Re: Seeking advice: Do I have the wrong approach in my attempt at the PP in my 401k?

TennPaGa wrote: GTU instead of SGOL (GTU is currently available at a 6% discount)
OK, dumb question:  how did you determine that GTU is available at a 6% discount? 
by rocketdog
Thu Jun 27, 2013 3:08 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: PP investors--stay the course
Replies: 282
Views: 124001

Re: PP investors--stay the course

Miners.  They go broke all the time.  Very volatile industry--which is why I play the sector and not individual companies.  Although, look at the largest miner in the world--Barrick.  5x earnings?  Absurd.  As a sector, the miners are nearing single digit PEs--levels we've only seen in the midst of...
by rocketdog
Thu Jun 27, 2013 3:05 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: 2 months old PP, down -3%.
Replies: 87
Views: 42915

Re: 2 months old PP, down -3%.

I don't know about anyone else, but when I made my initial PP buy-in I told myself that no matter when I took the plunge at least one of the assets I bought was going to start losing money almost immediately.  But I was wrong... because two of the assets started losing money almost immediately!  :o ...
by rocketdog
Thu Jun 27, 2013 1:59 pm
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Finance and Investing Books
Replies: 38
Views: 17850

Re: Finance and Investing Books

I just read an interesting book called "How To Retire Early and Live Well With Less Than A Million Dollars."  It was interesting because it was published in 2000, so the author was unaware of what would be happening in the markets.  Allegedly the author retired in 1981 at age 29 with a portfolio wor...
by rocketdog
Thu Jun 27, 2013 9:32 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: PP investors--stay the course
Replies: 282
Views: 124001

Re: PP investors--stay the course

All I can say is, "Thank goodness for my VP!"  :o Amen, brother! My VP is saving my bacon right now, +40% ytd. Makes me a little sick to think that I sold some VP and moved it into PP earlier this year, but whatever...  :'( please do tell about your VP What do you want to know?  My VP is equity-hea...
by rocketdog
Thu Jun 27, 2013 9:01 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: 2 months old PP, down -3%.
Replies: 87
Views: 42915

Re: 2 months old PP, down -3%.

What do you mean?  If you buy a 5-year bond for $1,000 and hold it to maturity, you get your entire $1,000 back. I think what he's getting to is that if there's, say, 10% inflation during every one of those years, that $1,000 you get back will only have the purchasing power of $590. 10% inflation f...
by rocketdog
Thu Jun 27, 2013 8:59 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: 2 months old PP, down -3%.
Replies: 87
Views: 42915

Re: 2 months old PP, down -3%.

This may not be the best spot for this after what Catacomb posted, but how is everyone tracking their rebalancing bands? Do you all just use a spreadsheet, and manually update the data based on the current day's prices? I've downloaded some of the spreadsheets on the forum previously, but I'm wonde...