-What would you think of someone who was 100% in cash? -What would you think of someone who was 100% in 30 year Treasury bonds?? -What would you think of someone who was 100% in gold??? I would consider 100% T-Bills super conservative but not insane if one were older and using a low withdrawal rate...

See Bernstein's curious but at times insightful 2010 review of the Permanent Portfolio, "Wild About Harry," in his blog, The Efficient Frontier": "In many respects, this allocation [25% stocks /25% bonds /25% LTTs /25% gold] is a thing of beauty. Not only does it provide some pro...

1. Don't believe anybody who tells you they are retired and then reports 0% cash in their portfolio. 2. No one knows for sure, but I have to think the stock market is reaching dangerous territory when stock bugs tell us how happy they are with their 100% stock portfolios. I can hear the howling even...

Why do you want a "global PP"? Do you live in the UK but spend a lot of time traveling outside the country?

On Grandpa's farm, we only ate what we killed ourselves. Anything else was only fit for the dogs.

I am not concerned.

I am not holding my breath for ten years.

As a store of wealth, gold is supposed to just sit there most of the time-- even for decades.

I think ETFs like BIL are fine for smaller portfolios. Once you start growing the portfolio larger, it makes sense to start phasing in T bills held directly in a brokerage account or Treasury Direct.

@sophie: Conceptually, I like the idea of “deep stocks.” I-bonds are attractive as “deep cash” Treasury securities held outside the traditional banking system. Physical gold is likewise “deep gold” that you ideally never sell. Nothing works quite the same way for LTTs, though I think that in one of ...

Switching from annual rebalancing to 15/35 bands is a result of my growing confidence in the PP. When I started my PP in 2013, I thought I would be limiting buying and selling by rebalancing annually. I have since concluded that using bands will probably yield superior results in the long run, as bo...

My PP was down -0.16% in 1st Quarter 2018, pretty much in line with what others have reported here. As I did an annual rebalance in August 2017, I am now pretty close to 25/25/25/25. The only “innovation” I am planning for this year for the portfolio as a whole is to switch from an annual rebalance ...

Xan, You won’t be buying short-term T-bills to replace your EE bonds with this strategy. Let us say you bought a $10,000 EE bond ten years ago. Checking moda’s chart, if today’s rate rose to over 6%, you should exercise your option to redeem your EE bond ($10,000 + 0.1% annual interest ) and then bu...

1. Investors sometimes mistakenly believe that you are permanently “locked in” for 20 years when you buy an EE bond. However, should current interest rates climb high enough, you always retain the option to trade any EE bond for a better performing Treasury at 0% cost. (Just don’t forget that you wi...

1. Yes, lower rates have certainly benefited EE bond holders. To put it in more concrete terms: If you bought EE bonds at 3.53% in 2005, you would have to be able to find a Treasury note of seven years’ maturity today, yielding more than 8%, in order to exercise your option to sell your EE bond (and...

Dualstow,

I noted that headline too.

I do wonder if the author of the article understands the important distinction between zero correlation of assets and negative correlation of assets.

Desert, Perhaps I should have been more explicit: The current iteration of EE bonds was initiated in May of 2005, featuring a doubling of purchase price at 20 years, or 3.53% p.a., tax deferred and free of state and local taxes. Some people on this forum have said they would never even consider buyi...

What a cool chart!

Looks like an advertisement for EE bonds (3.53% guaranteed at 20 years).

See also the many passenger reviews at cruise critic.com. I discovered rather quickly that I basically suck at ballroom dancing, but I caught on right away to afternoon tea with scones and clotted cream. The pheasant was the best that I have had since we hunted on Grandpa's farm. Had to work out at ...

See cunard.com and check under "Cruise Deals" for best prices during fall and winter. -Shop for best prices on lodging in London at airbnb. Lots of reasonable apartments available instead of expensive hotels near city center. -Since I spent the majority of my days doing research at various...

Once I hit 60, I found that I get jet lag more often no matter what class I travel. On my last trip to London, I booked roundtrip passage on the Queen Mary 2 for my wife and I . For less than round trip business class to Heathrow, you will have a much more civilized experience—if you have the time (...

Not very hard to connect the dots, is it?

blue_ruin 17, You got it right. I bought 30 year Treasury bonds in December 2013, shortly after going all in on the HBPP. Ever since, a non-stop chorus of know-it-alls has proclaimed that "interest rates have no where to go but up." (meaning, that LTTs have no place to go but down.) Last I...

See Jason Zweig's "Ten Years On, Loss of Trust Still Hangs Over Wall Street," in today's Wall Street Journal.

Zweig reflects on the legacies of the 2008 financial crisis. Jon Corzine is not mentioned by name, but he is clearly part of the problem, not the solution.

After reading it over, I share Sophie’s dissatisfaction with Treasury Direct’s ambiguous responses to legitimate questions expressed about TD’s liability in cases of computer hacking or identity theft of electronic Treasury securities in the thread over on BH. I wish TD would stop prevaricating, bot...

Barrett, You are correct, in the strict sense that savings bonds are not "the same as cash." I love I bonds, but I can't take one down to the grocery store and exchange it for a gallon of milk. On the other hand, the greenbacks in my safety deposit box won't earn interest. What makes savin...

Treasury bills held in your name at Treasury Direct are about as safe, stable, and liquid as you can get. Two possible things to consider: 1. It has never bothered me, but some people think Treasury Direct's website is clunky and unreliable. 2. You cannot establish an IRA through Treasury Direct. Fo...