After looking up FACTA, the minimum account that requires reporting is $50k. I haven't kept that much in an account at any 1 time since it is easy to transfer from US and there is currency exchange risk (especially now when $ is strong).
Good to know about FACTA for future decisions.
Thx.

Have you considered Bullion Vault? Some friends (non PP investors) have been using it for years and recommend it as a good company. And it seems to be discussed and liked in the forum. There was a thread about it: http://www.gyroscopicinvesting.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8487 Don't laugh but I never ...

@Sophie. Why are Perth Mint certificates better for tax accounts, but Fidelity is better for tax-advantaged accounts?
Thx.

What is missing here? You are a successful business person who has a practical and valuable skill/talent. It is a gift. Lots and lots of people would love to have that ability. Yet you feel it is a curse. Could it be that you are experiencing a lack of fulfillment? There are techniques that can incr...

Wouldn't including Cash bring the CGAR in the Juicy Portfolio more in line with the traditional 4X25?

^ thx for the explanation. Yikes. I think SLYV is showing a 7% spread. Do you see the bid/ask effect in the NAV? Or in the performance numbers? I guess what I am asking: is there a way to compare the performance of 2 different ETFs with different spreads? If you don't trade the fund often, except fo...

VB is different than VBR (SC vs SCV). SLYV has low volume but has been around since 2004 and at Morningstar seems to return consistently a bit better except in 2014 and 15. And 2016 it outperformed by a lot. Could someone pls explain how the bid/ask effects the performance. Does the NAV include the ...

Good. that's clear. Yes, it is Tyler who came up with the GB, not Larry Swedroe. BTW, I think Larry S. recommends 5 yr Treasuries now to combine with the SCV. You may be interested in this article on factor investing. http://investorfieldguide.com/alpha-or-assets/ He discusses about Smart Beta. One ...

I briefly looked at HAA compared to BullionVault. BV is less expensive. Also some friends of mine have been using BV and recommend it (but they are not PP investors)

But, in a year where a pp with small value underperforms specifically due to an underperforming small cap value stock section, would that "prove" that one should blend with S&P? Would you pls elaborate on this pt. It is confusing (to me) to see SCV connected with the PP. The PP is 4X2...

@Tyler: then which Benchmark/Index do you use on your site for SCV, and specifically the GB? The SCV performance this year proves Larry Swedroe's theory that if you are going to tilt towards an asset class then it should be a full tilt, not blended with anything else. Based on his research, his comp...

Article on PP Fund
http://www.fa-mag.com/news/keeping-the-faith-30661.html

Did anyone notice that the Vanguard SCV mutual and etf funds underperformed the iShares and Spyder etfs - by a lot?

Vanguard VSIAX (Admiral shares) and VBR (ETF) returned about 24% whereas IWN, IJS and SLYV all returned about 31%.

-according to Morningstar

In India it is being seen mainly as a positive but the political opposition is using it as an opportunity to gain ground. Besides the huge underground, hidden economy (hardly anyone pays income tax) there was a big problem with counterfeit notes from Pakistan. This had to be stopped with new, harder...

it only sucks when it doesn't work. When it works its great. One advantage is that you can call Apple CS and speak to someone about the problem. OP, you may like to try that.

Sounds good. Very helpful.
Tyler, keep up excellent efforts. And THANKS!

Very good info. What is the takeaway for the traditional PP investor? In other words, the backtesting is based on an index for one thing. Second thing is that the results include re-invested dividends. So for the PP investor buying individual 30 yr bonds and holding them for 10 yrs, are the results ...

Bonds are tough to understand pour moi. Can I ask a question(s)? When people post results of backtesting bonds (here and at sites like portfoliocharts.com) are they the results of a fund like TLT or are they the results of the cost of a 30 yr individual bond? Does the result include the income from ...

Perhaps if you just compare different portfolios (allocations) it may not be appropriate for the younger investor. However if you view the PP as a package (for example, conceptually how the parts fit together, the idea that investments can be simple and not complicated, predicting, etc) then it is v...

The "permanency" of the PP is very valuable. It is more preferable to deal with smaller changes (adjust savings or spending) vs dramatic/surprise moves. There was a post in this forum (sorry, can't remember exactly who wrote it, maybe Sophie?) that explained that other portfolios do not co...

http://theirrelevantinvestor.com/2016/12/02/the-permanent-portfolio/ Seems overall positive but with caveats. Do you think it is a fair assessment of the PP? And are there any more advantages of the PP that he missed? I am newly committed to the PP style of investing and interested in gaiming a clea...

^ +1
good explanation. all clear.

P.S. Thx for pointing to peaktotrough.com

OP here. @ barrett. Yes, I was looking at the yield changes. Could you explain how duration effects the phenomenon? And why the LTTs are still more valid than 10 yr?
Thx