Search found 762 matches

by rickb
Tue Jan 25, 2011 7:35 pm
Forum: Gold
Topic: Physical gold and taxes
Replies: 34
Views: 18029

Re: Physical gold and taxes

28% is an enormous tax bite. I don't mean to harp on this (I have no vested interest), but the possibility of paying the long term capital gains tax rather than the collectibles tax is one of the reasons I think GTU and PHYS are worth a serious look.  There are several distinct tradeoffs relative t...
by rickb
Sun Jan 23, 2011 6:03 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Tax Planning Thoughts Evolved
Replies: 19
Views: 10496

Re: Tax Planning Thoughts Evolved

I had never thought about skirting the wash sale rule using that method before. Pretty brilliant really. I am hunting for a way to skirt the wash sale for the gold portion but I have had no luck. I'm guessing swapping GLD for IAU is a no-no. I bet GTU would work but I don't like the way it trades, ...
by rickb
Mon Jan 17, 2011 1:17 pm
Forum: Gold
Topic: Silver Article
Replies: 19
Views: 10994

Re: Silver Article

See http://www.rpifs.com/offshoretax/otpfic.htm . Regarding paying tax on selling coins, if you pay cash for a gold coin and some years later sell it at a profit (for cash) you don't get a 1099 or any other statement - i.e. you're basically on your honor to pay the appropriate tax.  I'm certainly no...
by rickb
Mon Jan 17, 2011 12:37 pm
Forum: Gold
Topic: Silver Article
Replies: 19
Views: 10994

Re: Silver Article

This is really the wrong thread for this, but another way to get better tax treatment on gold is to buy GTU rather than the ETFs (e.g. GLD or IAU).  GTU apparently qualifies under US tax law as a passive foreign investment corporation, so as long as you file a form 8621 each year you own it (this is...
by rickb
Fri Nov 26, 2010 1:56 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: PP minimizing current income
Replies: 1
Views: 2026

PP minimizing current income

If I wanted to set up a HB PP but (for whatever reason) wanted to absolutely minimize current income I think 90% PRPFX plus 10% EDV would be a reasonable approach.  Any better alternatives?
by rickb
Mon Sep 27, 2010 9:42 am
Forum: Gold
Topic: Telegraph : Gold is the final refuge against universal currency debasement
Replies: 7
Views: 5136

Re: Telegraph : Gold is the final refuge against universal currency debasement

Clive - Since this is clearly copyrighted material, please replace the content with a link to the source, i.e.  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comm ... ement.html.
by rickb
Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:46 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Volatility Balancing
Replies: 8
Views: 4196

Re: Volatility Balancing

As Craig mentions above, Also be aware that the optimum asset allocation based on a backtest is going to change each year as the markets move and is highly time dependent. What is the optimum allocation today won't be the same one five years from now. Optimizing your current portfolio based on even ...
by rickb
Mon Sep 13, 2010 2:51 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Easing into the PP over time
Replies: 8
Views: 4901

Re: Easing into the PP over time

Rather than treat this as a single total portfolio and rebalance each year as you suggest, I think a better idea would be to explicitly treat this as two portfolios - a 4x25 PP that starts with 40% and an all stock VP with 60% - and then transfer money from the 60% stock portfolio (one-way) into the...
by rickb
Sat Sep 11, 2010 12:03 am
Forum: Gold
Topic: Buying Physical Gold Within an IRA Custodian Account
Replies: 3
Views: 4776

Re: Buying Physical Gold Within an IRA Custodian Account

I bring it up only since you don't mention it, but something else you might consider is GTU, which is a closed end fund that holds allocated, unencumbered, audited gold.  It definitely has its own issues (discussed in other threads here and the giant bogleheads thread), but avoids the custodian issu...
by rickb
Mon Aug 30, 2010 12:18 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: ETFs vs. index funds
Replies: 14
Views: 11747

Re: ETFs vs. index funds

This might be a very amateur question...but what is better, VTSMX or VTI?  Or, more generally, are index funds or ETFs better? Many people only look at the difference in the management fees and conclude the ETF is "better" (ever so slightly cheaper).  A better question is -  how are they different?...
by rickb
Wed Aug 18, 2010 1:58 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Reducing volatility
Replies: 3
Views: 4287

Reducing volatility

I'm thinking about an allocation that might be appropriate for a highly risk averse 80+ year old.  The main goal is capital preservation as opposed to capital appreciation.  For example, the prospect of a 10-15% decline is really not very acceptable.  Clive has suggested volatility can be reduced by...
by rickb
Mon May 17, 2010 7:32 pm
Forum: Gold
Topic: Price of IAU vs. price of gold
Replies: 4
Views: 5080

Re: Price of IAU vs. price of gold

The ETFs erode over time due to their ongoing expenses (about .4%/year - which they pay by taking that much gold from you).  So if the price started exactly at 1/10th of 1 oz of gold, after a year the price would be only .0996 of an ounce of gold.  Another way to put this is if you start with 1000 1...
by rickb
Sat May 15, 2010 2:48 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: What causes the Permanent Portfolio to go down?
Replies: 42
Views: 25516

Re: What causes the Permanent Portfolio to go down?

I think Simata is asking about the worst total draw down, from a daily high to a subsequent daily low (not just in a single day).  Perhaps this would be a peak in 2008 to some subsequent low.  For comparison the S&P index dropped about 55% from its peak on about 10 Oct 2008 to its subsequent low on ...
by rickb
Sun May 02, 2010 2:14 pm
Forum: Gold
Topic: ETF's as Gold? or ETF's as anything for that matter?
Replies: 17
Views: 14560

Re: ETF's as Gold? or ETF's as anything for that matter?

The premium over NAV is something I'm not used to seeing and still trying to get my head around. Do others equate this with basically the dealer mark-up of physical bullion? Is that the best way to value whether the premium is fair or not? The premium (or, theoretically, discount) for GTU is simply...
by rickb
Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:50 pm
Forum: Gold
Topic: goldmoney.com
Replies: 4
Views: 7567

Re: goldmoney.com

it just strikes me as a maze of potential problems compared to direct ownership. I definitely agree if the comparison is to buying gold coins.  However, if the goal is to keep some portion of your gold holdings in an offshore location it's not clear to me the risks are tremendously different from o...
by rickb
Mon Apr 26, 2010 12:37 pm
Forum: Gold
Topic: goldmoney.com
Replies: 4
Views: 7567

goldmoney.com

Anyone have any experience with http://goldmoney.com/ ?  I know the basics, i.e. it's effectively an offshore bank (foreign account for US taxpayers) in which you can deposit money and then convert the money into gold (pooled).  There's a sliding fee charged to convert into gold (a premium over spot...
by rickb
Mon Apr 26, 2010 10:05 am
Forum: Gold
Topic: GTU vs. Perth Mint
Replies: 5
Views: 9738

Re: GTU vs. Perth Mint

The time to buy GTU is when the premium is down, which happens due to normal market forces and also right after additional shares are created (if you look at the news history, the last time this happened was May 12, 2009).  One way to look at it is the premium (more or less) corresponds to the marku...
by rickb
Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:32 am
Forum: Gold
Topic: GTU vs. Perth Mint
Replies: 5
Views: 9738

Re: GTU vs. Perth Mint

I don't know much about Perth (maybe someone else can comment). GTU is a Canadian trust available as a closed end fund run by the same folks who run CEF (which was founded in 1961).  CEF is a 60/40 gold/silver mix while GTU is strictly gold.  Since these are closed end funds, the current price might...