Introducing myself

[Marlin3030]

Politeness dictates that I introduce myself to the forum before blabbing on with a couple of questions (minor).


Firstly a huge thanks to Craigr for this forum and his blog. Huge thanks to Craigr and Mediumtex for the posts over on Boglheads (I'm only onto page 17 of that thread).


Short version. Wrong side of 35. Living in Australia but moving to New Zealand with dual citizenship to the UK (that's three flags for those that appreciate "Sovereign Man's" idea's / blog). Low(ish) income. Forum handle a tribute to my favourite Australian legal rifle.

Long version.

In late 99 I was forced to change my Superannuation provider (Superannuation is a retirement plan in Australia that can't be touched until age 65). An investment advisor showed me a graph of US Share prices skyrocketing and he suggested I put my money in that fund. So that's what I did. Fast forward to just over 2 years later and I discover that my retirement money has been destroyed. That was an expensive lesson

I jumped on board the Gold train at about $900. I thought I knew the market and played with Contract For Difference (CFD's) but thank goodness I got out very quickly when I realised the monumental losses I could have worn. I believe that CFD's are banned in the US. I got in at the encouragement of people I knew who advised using moving averages. Anyway I was totally out of my depth and playing with huge amounts of money that there is no way I could ever pay if it went bad. Thank god I wasn't burnt.

Just before the Global Financial Crisis / Stock Market Crash I moved all my Super from shares into cash. A couple of weeks later people thought I was a genius but truth be told I was just following other people. So there is no way I could repeat that sort of market timing. Lucky is all.

So I'm still accumulating Gold and I was forced to sell a substantial amount at AUD $1500 which was a peak for quite some time as it promptly fell to $1000(ish). People thought I was a genius but it was a forced sale. Again - luck not skill. I rebuilt my Gold stockpile through hard graft and going without for a year. Not really a life to be honest. I followed all the Gold guru's and got caught up in all the hype. It was on a precious metals forum that I first heard of Harry Browne's Permanent Portfolio as someone said that it was 25% Gold. I like Gold. I like it a lot. But to be quite frank being 100% Gold didn't sit right, still I love Gold and it's going to be a big part of my plans outside of the PP.

I've done a lot of reading into the PP, I've listened to most of HB radio shows and read as widely as I can. I like the simplicity of the plan. Harry Browne most definetely has left a gift to the investing world. Common sense coupled with simplicity of operation that takes profits off the table from in-favour sectors and reinvests them in out-of-favour sectors. How often do investors stick with an investment all the way up and all the way down? How often do we chase last weeks returns?

So with all humility I'll follow Harry Brownes investment plan. It's proven itself over a significant time. Hell, after 2008 thanks to Craigr and Mediumtex I reckon more people are following the PP than ever! Unfortunately being in Australia (and New Zealand) there are some differences to the US in terms of the PP and with any luck they'll just be a hiccup. These differences is what I'll be asking about in the main forum.


Caveat though. I can't help but "play" with my portfolio but it's my intention that this "play" will be in the form of monthly updates on my upcoming blog dedicated to a Australian / New Zealand Permanent Portfolio.


So in closing - Thanks Craigr and Mediumtex. Thanks others on the web as well. Of special note is the Iceland case study, the Belgian PP Blog by Marc De Mesel.

[MediumTex]

Welcome to the site!

I'm glad you found us.

[Pres]

Interesting story! Welcome aboard.