The ETF picks look good. I hold IAU for my paper gold.
IMO, 30/70 total stock/total bond is a solid portfolio where the PP is unavailable.
Search found 945 matches
- Tue May 02, 2017 7:37 pm
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
- Topic: Options in 401k when i cannot implement PP
- Replies: 7
- Views: 6504
- Wed Mar 15, 2017 4:14 pm
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
- Topic: Question for original forum members
- Replies: 42
- Views: 31215
Re: Question for original forum members
Member since 2010, just shy of 1000 posts. 1. About what % of your investments are still in the PP, if any? Nearly 100%. DW and I each have a 401k and IRA, and each of the 4 accounts is a separate, conventional 4x25 PP. There is a small legacy retirement account in PRPFX. The only ex-PP assets are o...
- Tue Jan 10, 2017 2:58 pm
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
- Topic: PP FORUM STAYING -- details here
- Replies: 38
- Views: 27864
Re: PP FORUM STAYING -- details here
Thanks, Craig, for years of gracious hosting.
And thanks, Xan, for carrying the torch forward.
And thanks, Xan, for carrying the torch forward.
- Tue Jan 10, 2017 2:55 pm
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
- Topic: PP Performance for 2016
- Replies: 101
- Views: 65088
Re: PP Performance for 2016
Most of our funds are in plain 4x25 PPs, so those were in the ballpark of the 5.88% Sophie cited. DW also has a PRPFX holding which, I see, was up about 9% in 2016.
No plans to do anything different in 2017; we'll just keep chipping in and rebalancing as needed.
No plans to do anything different in 2017; we'll just keep chipping in and rebalancing as needed.
- Mon Oct 17, 2016 11:24 pm
- Forum: Bonds
- Topic: Any opinions on FZFXX
- Replies: 3
- Views: 4306
Re: Any opinions on FZFXX
As cash vehicles go, FZFXX looks pretty good. It "...normally invests at least 80% of the fund's assets in U.S. Treasury securities and repurchase agreements for those securities" and 80% T-bills is a pretty good proportion. It's hard to find much better. The expense ratio is high but not ...
- Mon Oct 17, 2016 11:17 pm
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
- Topic: HB audios still available somewhere (else)?
- Replies: 3
- Views: 3106
Re: HB audios still available somewhere (else)?
Also, a little birdie told me that there used to be torrents for these.
- Sun Sep 18, 2016 1:39 am
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
- Topic: What would the PP look like without fiat currency and central banks?
- Replies: 19
- Views: 12150
Re: What would the PP look like without fiat currency and central banks?
Back on topic, if gold and cash were interchangeable then 25x4 is equivalent to 50% cash, 25% long term bonds, 25% stocks. Note that the total bond market is mostly short term bonds. So the 50/25/25 allocation is very similar to a 75% total bond market, 25% total stock market portfolio. In other wor...
- Fri Aug 05, 2016 1:27 am
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
- Topic: 401(k) Rollover
- Replies: 11
- Views: 8582
Re: 401(k) Rollover
I prefer to rollover into an IRA instead of the new employer's 401k. With an IRA you can choose the broker, and change brokers at a whim, so you will always have a PP-friendly custodian. Even 401k's with a brokerage window tend to gave a few "gotchas" that cause headaches. For example mine...
- Fri Aug 05, 2016 1:18 am
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Funds
- Topic: PRPFX article on MarketWatch
- Replies: 5
- Views: 21125
Re: PRPFX article on MarketWatch
The short take on PRPFX: it's a convenient, legitimate one-fund PP; expense ratio is quite high; the asset allocation is not 4x25, but is in the same ballpark; it does not always track the 4x25, but that's well explained by the asset allocation differences; returns and volatility are pretty close to...
- Fri Jul 22, 2016 12:12 am
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
- Topic: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me
- Replies: 36
- Views: 20136
Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me
I believe the Cash FAQ sticky thread on this forum has essentially the same contents as the Crawling Road blog post:
http://www.gyroscopicinvesting.com/foru ... p?f=4&t=17
http://www.gyroscopicinvesting.com/foru ... p?f=4&t=17
- Wed Jul 20, 2016 1:44 pm
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
- Topic: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me
- Replies: 36
- Views: 20136
Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me
The cash component: - Retains value during tight-money recessions, so that you can "buy low" on stocks, or even consumer purchases such as real estate and cars. - Prevents you from "selling low" on other assets when you withdraw from the portfolio (as Sophie has analyzed). - Perf...
- Thu Jul 14, 2016 1:03 pm
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
- Topic: Scott Burns' Co on the PP
- Replies: 56
- Views: 30734
Re: Scott Burns' Co on the PP
The only wrinkle is that the age in bonds portfolio will get a bit of a head start through the young professional's retirement program. Not much of one though. True. What is the "default" advice for a young professional starting a PP from scratch? Browne said to maximize tax efficiency, b...
- Wed Jul 13, 2016 8:01 pm
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
- Topic: Scott Burns' Co on the PP
- Replies: 56
- Views: 30734
Re: Scott Burns' Co on the PP
The comparison of the 60/40 returns to the 25x4 PP indeed isn't fair, because the owner of the 60/40 needs to hold cash. How much isn't clear, but most would recommend a sizeable enough chunk that it's a significant fraction of the stock/bond portfolio. Hear, hear. The time spent accumulating the c...
- Sat Jul 09, 2016 1:01 am
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
- Topic: Vanguard Sucks
- Replies: 19
- Views: 9456
Re: Vanguard Sucks
What's the advantage of a mutual fund over an ETF again? Price is less volatile - don't have to pay extra to ensure 'market' price is really 'market' price. Also, when you buy funds directly from the sponsor (Vanguard), there is slightly less counterparty risk since there is no stock exchange in th...
- Fri Jul 08, 2016 12:27 am
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
- Topic: Vanguard Sucks
- Replies: 19
- Views: 9456
Re: Vanguard Sucks
Their stated philosophy is to minimize complexity and transaction costs. They'd rather have you lump everything into one fund-of-funds, or maybe a three-fund portfolio. The only workarounds are things I expect you've already decided not to do: streamline to fewer funds, replace some of the individua...
- Fri Jul 01, 2016 6:54 pm
- Forum: Bonds
- Topic: Engineering Your Own SHY
- Replies: 18
- Views: 12649
Re: Engineering Your Own SHY
Yeah, that's my feeling. The ladder works and people who use it are not wrong, but for me it's not worth the hassle.Kbg wrote:I think it looks like breakeven to maybe even a bit more expensive to do the ladder vs. SHY given my likely trade size. And certainly SHY wins in the hassle factor category.
- Fri Jul 01, 2016 6:44 pm
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
- Topic: Oh Come On
- Replies: 109
- Views: 44412
Re: Oh Come On
So when the portfolio goes down for a few days, people complain bitterly and need reassurance. And when the portfolio goes up for a few days, people complain bitterly and need reassurance. Maybe you guys need a therapist more than you need an Internet forum. :P I kid, but seriously: the PP is having...
- Fri Jul 01, 2016 1:03 pm
- Forum: Bonds
- Topic: Engineering Your Own SHY
- Replies: 18
- Views: 12649
Re: Engineering Your Own SHY
Couldn't you just avoid that by only buying on the run issues? AFAIK yes, but I don't know whether any brokers allow you to buy bills at auction commission free. You can buy auction bills through Treasury Direct but that's taxable only. Also there's the issue of what you do with idle cash in betwee...
- Fri Jul 01, 2016 12:56 pm
- Forum: Bonds
- Topic: Engineering Your Own SHY
- Replies: 18
- Views: 12649
Re: Engineering Your Own SHY
BTW, it's not through that Investing In Bonds site... that's just a click through to Morningstar where you can input your CUSIP. Now anyways, according to them, the last trade (on the day I bought it for 100.74) was 100.72. The day before it was 100.62, so it probably was trading between 100.62 and...
- Thu Jun 30, 2016 7:23 pm
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
- Topic: Brexit Schmexit
- Replies: 7
- Views: 4495
Re: Brexit Schmexit
The Brexit affair, and the news coverage and market responses to it, are a good case study for a lot of Harry Browne's ideas.
- Thu Jun 30, 2016 6:51 pm
- Forum: Bonds
- Topic: Engineering Your Own SHY
- Replies: 18
- Views: 12649
Re: Engineering Your Own SHY
Please see the article I linked. When you buy a bond through a broker, the broker buys it from someone else and then sells it to you at a higher price. That markup is usually undisclosed, so it's difficult to know what exactly it is.Kriegsspiel wrote:What is the 1% markup in? The yield?
- Thu Jun 30, 2016 6:02 pm
- Forum: Bonds
- Topic: Engineering Your Own SHY
- Replies: 18
- Views: 12649
Re: Engineering Your Own SHY
Unfortunately the markup is not so easy to find: http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/26/munis-spreads-markups-personal-finance_investing_ideas_bond_brokers.html Generally, a 1% to 2% markup is acceptable for retail buyers. Unfortunately, exaggerated markups (over 5%) occur more often with uninformed inves...
- Thu Jun 30, 2016 5:09 pm
- Forum: Bonds
- Topic: Engineering Your Own SHY
- Replies: 18
- Views: 12649
Re: Engineering Your Own SHY
Essentially "yes." You can buy individual Treasury bills, either through Treasury Direct or through a brokerage with free T-bill trades. This approach has the benefit of avoiding the counterparty risk from a fund. The problem is that small retail investors pay a hidden transaction cost in ...
- Mon May 09, 2016 1:53 pm
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
- Topic: Latest Asset Class Returns vs The Average Investor
- Replies: 12
- Views: 7522
Re: Latest Asset Class Returns vs The Average Investor
It's sad to see that the average investor would have done better to put all their money into 3 month treasuries and a house. Harry Browne at one point suggested that very plan for people who couldn't cope with the Permanent Portfolio structure. This is the reason that I think Dave Ramsey's investi...
- Fri Apr 15, 2016 11:30 pm
- Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
- Topic: Permanent portfolio accumulation and capital addition
- Replies: 33
- Views: 16569
Re: Permanent portfolio accumulation and capital addition
I agree with Sophie's analysis, but FWIW I follow Browne's advice, direct all contributions to cash, and follow the plain 15/35 rebalance rule. One reason is my desire to stay disciplined about not going down the slippery slope of changing the PP bit by bit until it stops being a PP. Another reason ...