600 Members Coming Up

[Hal]

So now we have 698 members, would anyone mind sharing how they first found out about the Permanent Portfolio? Particularly interested with the newest members as the PP is rarely, if ever, mentioned elsewhere these days. Nothing like the 2008 timeframe.

[Kriegsspiel]

It was on Bogleheads in 2012.

[Smith1776]

Chain of events:

1) Found out about Ron Paul's portfolio via public filings a couple years ago - mostly gold, silver, and mining stocks.
2) Scoffed.
3) Somehow there was a link to related portfolios that also held a lot of gold.
4) Got linked to the Permanent Portfolio Family of Funds (PRPFX)
5) Scoffed.
6) Googled and found the epic Bogleheads thread with craigr and MediumTex.
7) Read literally the whole thread.
8 ) Switched to Permanent Portfolio.
9) Now regularly scoffing at the Three Fund Portfolio, 60/40, etc.

[boglerdude]

Saw it in one of the many gold bashing threads on bogleheads. I'm still not sure if a deflationary currency is good, despite thinking about it daily for years :/ "Good for whom" might be part of the answer.

[bedraggled]

I notice we are approaching 1,000 members.

On July 12, 2017, I wrote we were at 599 members. That prompted sweetbethescrivener to sign on as #600. All hail Herman Melville! (The best short story ever)?

Anyway, the time between 600 and today seems short. Is the 4x25 finding followers more quickly?

Great to hear from Pointed Stick. Anyone heard from TennPaGa? And the Desert Portfolio has me as an admirer but when the choice among that, the Golden Butterfly and Harry’ Concoction weighs on me, Harry always seems best.

On to 1,000 or 10,000!

[ochotona]

I notice we are approaching 1,000 members.

On to 1,000 or 10,000!

If membership spikes into the thousands, it would probably be time to transition to portfolios more aggressive than Harry's

[bedraggled]

Ocho,

Aggressive Portfolios?

I thought those thousands would be looking to go 4x25, in line with the HBPP philosophy- and it is a lovely philosophy.

Please comment.

Thanks.

[Xan]

Many of the signup will have been spammers, I'm afraid.

[bedraggled]

Let us hope....

[Smith1776]

For the most part I'd love to see the masses adopt Harry Browne's excellent ideas.

On the other hand, I don't expect that will happen, and part of me doesn't want it either. Browne's ideas are simply too countercultural, and unorthodox for the average investor. You really have to understand the nuances of his thinking too before you see how bloody insightful he was.

But yeah, there's a part of me that likes that "elite" feeling of being in such an unusual group. Beyond that, the tight knit feel of this forum is so much better than alternative forums. I don't want that to change.

As for the idea of aggressive/defensive portfolios -- the PP can be turned up to be as aggressive as one likes. Just crank up your VP like I did in the Browne + Graham thread.

[ochotona]

Ocho,

Aggressive Portfolios?

I thought those thousands would be looking to go 4x25, in line with the HBPP philosophy- and it is a lovely philosophy.

Please comment.

Thanks.

I just mean that most people buy high, sell low. They will go for conservative allocations like HBPP after the storm has passed, when it would actually help them to have more risk. Then just before the next storm arrive, they will walk around the golf course holding metal rods.

[Smith1776]

Ocho,

Aggressive Portfolios?

I thought those thousands would be looking to go 4x25, in line with the HBPP philosophy- and it is a lovely philosophy.

Please comment.

Thanks.

I just mean that most people buy high, sell low. They will go for conservative allocations like HBPP after the storm has passed, when it would actually help them to have more risk. Then just before the next storm arrive, they will walk around the golf course holding metal rods.

Yup, just as William Berstein pointed out in his prescient Wild About Harry paper.