Slowly bleeding

General Discussion on the Permanent Portfolio Strategy

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dutchtraffic
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Re: Slowly bleeding

Post by dutchtraffic »

AnotherSwede wrote:
[Because I don't../quote]
Me neither :)

what an awful problem, having that much money in these times.
I realise it's a luxury problem, but it's still a problem.
AnotherSwede
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Re: Slowly bleeding

Post by AnotherSwede »

I have a cash buffer i am comfortable with.

But mostly i am in mortgage.
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MachineGhost
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Re: Slowly bleeding

Post by MachineGhost »

dutchtraffic wrote:A global PP (using https://www.ishares.com/uk/individual/e ... -ucits-etf for the bonds), and using a total world ETF for stocks would have never broken down completely.

It does break the PP concept entirely though.
But that's only because of the USD-denominated assets, so just adopt a US PP. What exactly is the problem with doing that? You're playing with fire if you don't have substantial exposure to the world's reserve currency. Rome did not fall before all of the peripheral economies and their coins & sovereign debt first did. Instead of 75% losses in Iceland, I bet you would have made a profit with a US PP instead of a Iceland PP.

The only modern day example we have of a currency going kaput from its reserve status is the British Pound. And who caused that? We did, intentionally. Who will cause it to us in the future? Probably China. But in the meantime, nearly all of the developing/emerging world has their sovereign debt denominated in USD and pegged to US interest rates. You don't want to be anywhere near there when the SHTF. The pressure will be out-of-this-world to end the USD as the reserve currency. It won't be a question of political will, but economic necessity. But everyone else crashes and burns first. There's an advantage to being the sole survivor.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes

Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet.  I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
AnotherSwede
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Re: Slowly bleeding

Post by AnotherSwede »

Probably China. But in the meantime
How are you gonna make the transition?
How will you know it is time to NOT rebalance from gold into soon to be worthless dollars and treasurys?

What about already now implementing a global PP? At least for nonamericans. Perhaps with local cash as cash.
dutchtraffic
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Re: Slowly bleeding

Post by dutchtraffic »

MachineGhost wrote: But that's only because of the USD-denominated assets, so just adopt a US PP. What exactly is the problem with doing that?
Everybody assumes the US will be the last man standing, which probably makes that scenario less likely to happen.

I would effectively make a bet on the US, and not just the USD as a currency, but also politically.
Do I trust the US government enough to put all my money there, as a foreigner? Ofc not.
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MachineGhost
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Re: Slowly bleeding

Post by MachineGhost »

AnotherSwede wrote:
Probably China. But in the meantime
How are you gonna make the transition?
How will you know it is time to NOT rebalance from gold into soon to be worthless dollars and treasurys?

What about already now implementing a global PP? At least for nonamericans. Perhaps with local cash as cash.
I expect it will happen just as Bretton Woods happened. It will be in everyone's best interest to have an orderly transition to a new monetary regime. If not, that's what we hold gold for. Betting against America has been a bad bet for hundreds of years and a global currency crisis is not going to change that fact. After all, money is just a means to transfer value; it is not value per se. Only the USA has the widest, deepest and most liquidly transparent financial markets in the entire world with the taxation and productivity power to back it all up and that is not going to change anytime soon.

If you can predict exactly what countries will receive capital flows during a global currency crisis besides the USA and avoid those countries that will not, then I say go for it. But from my USA-centric perspective, the additional sovereign risk is not worth it vs holding gold, especially as all of the peripheral economies are dependent on commodities and/or finished good exports to the USA. Even Switzerland. You have to decide if investing in "Rome" is an effective hedge against the peripheral economy that you live in.

The easiest answer to your dilemma is hold gold out of your country and out of your economic zone. Giving that Germany is largely responsible for screwing up the EU, it's way too correlated to the fate of the EU to say that is a safe sovereign diversification.
"All generous minds have a horror of what are commonly called 'Facts'. They are the brute beasts of the intellectual domain." -- Thomas Hobbes

Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet.  I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
dutchtraffic
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Re: Slowly bleeding

Post by dutchtraffic »

On the topic of how countries could deal with foreign bondholders during a euro currency crisis.
It's obviously more likely that domestic bondholders will be treated "better".

Now i'm wondering how an Irish Ishares etf that holds bonds from my own country would be treated, hmz..
dutchtraffic
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Re: Slowly bleeding

Post by dutchtraffic »

1 day before the election i had made my decision to drop my euro assets entirely and move over to a portfolio in USD.
Obviously there is still EURO exposure from stocks in the S&P500, and EFA.

I switched to a PP-like portfolio:

20% cash: MINT
20% stocks: SPY
20% stocks: EFA
20% gold: GLD
20% bonds: TLT

I sell weekly calls with a delta of 20 to 30 on every holding (except cash ofc) to get some cash flowing.
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