William Bernstein on Cash holdings (T-Bills)

Discussion of the Cash portion of the Permanent Portfolio

Moderator: Global Moderator

Post Reply
User avatar
joypog
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 561
Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2022 7:42 pm

William Bernstein on Cash holdings (T-Bills)

Post by joypog » Thu May 05, 2022 2:34 pm

Just listening as I work so I haven't listened to the whole program. 14 minutes in, Bernstein mentions that safe assets should be held as T-bills (as opposed to bond funds) and that Buffet holds 20% in bills.

https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1rmGPgNWXRMKN?s=20
1/n weirdo. US-TSM, US-SCV, Intl-SCV, LTT, STT, GLD (+ a little in MF)
User avatar
Hal
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 1349
Joined: Tue May 03, 2011 1:50 am

Re: William Bernstein on Cash holdings (T-Bills)

Post by Hal » Thu May 05, 2022 2:51 pm

You will probably find this five part article interesting then.
https://www.idiosyncraticwhisk.com/search?q=bonds
Aussie GoldSmithPP - 25% PMGOLD, 75% VDCO
whatchamacallit
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 750
Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:32 pm

Re: William Bernstein on Cash holdings (T-Bills)

Post by whatchamacallit » Thu May 05, 2022 4:18 pm

Great listen. I seem to always enjoy Bernstein.

Thanks for posting.
User avatar
vnatale
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 9423
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 8:56 pm
Location: Massachusetts
Contact:

Re: William Bernstein on Cash holdings (T-Bills)

Post by vnatale » Thu May 05, 2022 9:29 pm

joypog wrote:
Thu May 05, 2022 2:34 pm

Just listening as I work so I haven't listened to the whole program. 14 minutes in, Bernstein mentions that safe assets should be held as T-bills (as opposed to bond funds) and that Buffet holds 20% in bills.

https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1rmGPgNWXRMKN?s=20


Is there any date for the recording?
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
User avatar
joypog
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 561
Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2022 7:42 pm

Re: William Bernstein on Cash holdings (T-Bills)

Post by joypog » Thu May 05, 2022 10:19 pm

Yes, it was today, 5/5/2022. :D
1/n weirdo. US-TSM, US-SCV, Intl-SCV, LTT, STT, GLD (+ a little in MF)
User avatar
vnatale
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 9423
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 8:56 pm
Location: Massachusetts
Contact:

Re: William Bernstein on Cash holdings (T-Bills)

Post by vnatale » Fri May 06, 2022 8:52 pm

joypog wrote:
Thu May 05, 2022 2:34 pm

Just listening as I work so I haven't listened to the whole program. 14 minutes in, Bernstein mentions that safe assets should be held as T-bills (as opposed to bond funds) and that Buffet holds 20% in bills.

https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1rmGPgNWXRMKN?s=20


This was quite good. Listened to it twice while doing no-mind work on my property this afternoon.

Bernstein (along with Michael Kitces) is on MY personal finance Mt. Rushmore!
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
whatchamacallit
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 750
Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:32 pm

Re: William Bernstein on Cash holdings (T-Bills)

Post by whatchamacallit » Sat May 07, 2022 12:12 am

Does anyone else get this image in their head when listening to Bernstein?

The Dude
Image
User avatar
vnatale
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 9423
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2019 8:56 pm
Location: Massachusetts
Contact:

Re: William Bernstein on Cash holdings (T-Bills)

Post by vnatale » Sat May 07, 2022 7:23 am

whatchamacallit wrote:
Sat May 07, 2022 12:12 am

Does anyone else get this image in their head when listening to Bernstein?

The Dude
Image


No, since I have prior seen his pictures and have thought he was in his 70s:

Bernstein.jpg
Bernstein.jpg (15.37 KiB) Viewed 2724 times
Above provided by: Vinny, who always says: "I only regret that I have but one lap to give to my cats." AND "I'm a more-is-more person."
User avatar
jalanlong
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 829
Joined: Mon Jul 01, 2019 7:30 am

Re: William Bernstein on Cash holdings (T-Bills)

Post by jalanlong » Fri Jul 15, 2022 12:00 pm

Why would he be down on TBill etfs? I’m keeping my dry powder in SGOV which is a 0-3 month treasury bill etf with a .05% expense ratio. I prefer the ease of that instead of setting up auto rolling etc. Especially since I can reinvest the distributions into more shares.
Kbg
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 2815
Joined: Fri May 23, 2014 4:18 pm

Re: William Bernstein on Cash holdings (T-Bills)

Post by Kbg » Mon Jul 18, 2022 5:08 pm

jalanlong wrote:
Fri Jul 15, 2022 12:00 pm
Why would he be down on TBill etfs? I’m keeping my dry powder in SGOV which is a 0-3 month treasury bill etf with a .05% expense ratio. I prefer the ease of that instead of setting up auto rolling etc. Especially since I can reinvest the distributions into more shares.
In my view .05 is well worth it too. However, individual bonds have a bunch of advantages including aligning with funding needs, less self-sabotaging loss reaction behavior, better tax planning and plain ole keeping your .05% for you.. Let's say you know how to buy a bond on Treasury Direct (TD) or at your broker with a $1M bond portfolio that's 5K per year in savings.

I could set up complex a $1M auto-rolling T-Bill ladder in 15-20 mins top. Probably 5mins for a basic roll it all on the same date next year (or something similar) plan. $5K is quite a bit to pay for a 20 min do it yourself job. (x number of years held)

If I could move money between TD and my brokerage accounts of various tax treatments I'd never own bond fund.
whatchamacallit
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 750
Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:32 pm

Re: William Bernstein on Cash holdings (T-Bills)

Post by whatchamacallit » Mon Jul 18, 2022 9:28 pm

.05 percent of 1 million would only be 500 but that is still a lot when you think about how little income you are earning from the etf.

If you earned $20,000, $500 would be 2.5% of your income you earned from the fund.
Kbg
Executive Member
Executive Member
Posts: 2815
Joined: Fri May 23, 2014 4:18 pm

Re: William Bernstein on Cash holdings (T-Bills)

Post by Kbg » Tue Jul 19, 2022 6:37 pm

whatchamacallit wrote:
Mon Jul 18, 2022 9:28 pm
.05 percent of 1 million would only be 500 but that is still a lot when you think about how little income you are earning from the etf.

If you earned $20,000, $500 would be 2.5% of your income you earned from the fund.
Yep...I goofed it. Thanks for the correction.
Post Reply