Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

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FF9000
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Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by FF9000 » Mon Jul 18, 2016 9:42 am

I've read a lot about the PP and am strongly considering using it for the bulk of my assets. But a few things haven't made sense to me and so I wanted to check in with the PP experts.

  • Why the 25/25/25/25 allocation? I understand the concept - be in a good place to handle any of the four types of economic scenarios. However, it appears that an evenly-distributed allocation assumes an equal probability for all four scenarios. Particularly in the case of deflation, which is a much less common occurrence than inflation, and would imply that cash holdings are overweighted in the portfolio. While Browne's idea that "you cannot predict the future by looking at history" is accurate, it is overly simplistic. You could use the same logic to say "just because the US Government has not defaulted doesn't mean it won't tomorrow". Again true, but not particularly helpful from an allocation perspective. Or "The PP has worked in the past but might not in the future." If we use historical returns, volatilities, correlations, etc. we can be better at predicting than just assuming equal weighting for all scenarios. And so 25/25/25/25, while elegant and probably "good enough", seems to be "leaving money on the table" even at the same level of risk. In a nutshell, 25/25/25/25 seems like an overly simplistic short-cut. The idea of the four asset classes makes rational sense, but surely there is a better way to determine how to maximize returns for a specific level of risk based on asset correlations, returns, and volatility. Has this been assessed by anybody?
  • In terms of projecting out PP growth, the Portfolio Visualizer isn't a bad tool, but it does not use asset correlations when forecasting based "statistical returns". Has anyone here done a stochastic analysis using not only historical returns for each asset class but also using correlations between asset classes (without using historical years for bootstrapping)? I am thinking something like a Principal Component Analysis could accomplish this but I have not gotten around to doing it myself yet.
There will be more questions, but these were the first two I wanted to pose. Thanks.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by Tyler » Mon Jul 18, 2016 11:28 am

Hi FF9000. Welcome! Good questions.

Why the 4x25 allocation? The short story (from my perspective) is that the PP was designed for "money you can't afford to lose". So the 4x25 is the agnostic allocation that protects your money equally in any economic outcome. If you want to try to tweak the risk-adjusted returns, that's what the variable portfolio is for. Many people here own various VP holdings, but the PP is the solid foundation everything is built on.

Regarding projecting growth into the future, that's always a challenging proposition. I personally don't care for stochastic analyses because the real world is more complicated and interconnected than the mathematical methods can ever hope to account for, and the resulting precision is really deceptive. I prefer to look at history as a whole and appreciate the total range of outcomes. For example, play around with this calculator and change the different asset percentages. Some portfolios are more uncertain than others, and while you'll never be able to predict any future path with certainty you can get a good feeling for the range of possibilities by studying enough history. FWIW, the PP is one of the most steady asset allocations I've found to date.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by dualstow » Mon Jul 18, 2016 12:58 pm

FF9000 wrote:I've read a lot about the PP and am strongly considering using it for the bulk of my assets. But a few things haven't made sense to me and so I wanted to check in with the PP experts.

  • Why the 25/25/25/25 allocation? ...
    it appears that an evenly-distributed allocation assumes an equal probability for all four scenarios. Particularly in the case of deflation, which is a much less common occurrence than inflation,.
It's kind of funny to read this in a time when yields are plummeting and long bonds (not cash) are doing their job.

I'm not sure how others feel about the probabilities, but the way I see it, there is a significant enough chance of any of the four scenarios happen. Once you acknowledge that, you want to be sufficiently prepared for each scenario, and you prepare by having enough of the corresponding asset.

Harry acknowledged that that 25% figure is arbitrary, keeping it simple, and it probably wouldn't kill you to knock it down to 20%. But, if you want to reduce the allocation more than that because you think that's in proportion to a probability, maybe don't bother to hold that asset (or the pp) at all.

One of the hardest things is thinking of the pp as a package and not worrying too much about the underlying assets, because at least one looks crazy at any given time, usually more than one.

Continue kicking the tires, though. It's your money, and it's important to understand a portfolio before putting one's hard-earned cash in it, even one that purports to be conservative.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by dragoncar » Mon Jul 18, 2016 2:12 pm

Others have proposed allocations based on duration or volatility, but I think they are still fairly close to the 4x25. I personally agree the PP is slightly skewed towards outperformance in bad times, but you have to remember that HB considered your salary to be the number one wealth generator. So in good times it's easy to get a job and be paid well - you don't need your portfolio to kick ass. In bad times you may lose your job and that is when you really want portfolio protection
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by Xan » Mon Jul 18, 2016 2:43 pm

There are also advantages to being a bit counter-cyclical. Yes, it stinks to be lagging a bit when stocks are hot. But then when there's a crash you can do things like buy a nicer house than you'd normally be able to.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by Kbg » Mon Jul 18, 2016 3:14 pm

Welcome FF!

I would take a look at MachineGhosts research resort. He's one of the board's more prolific data torturers. I'm a minor one. I think it's important to understand that Harry Browne philosophically did not believe in the ability to predict the markets which was a primary driver of asset selection and allocation. However, he did classify market types similarly to/the same as all-weather portfolios as you are probably aware. Over time he also migrated toward greater simplicity. Finally, he deliberately chose high volatility assets so that any one asset could carry the load when others were not doing well. I'm personally not a 4x25 purist nor was HB. He was pretty firm about not going below 20% for any one or over 35% however.

So, why the background explanation? If one is going to embark on additional analysis a necessary prerequisite is to determine if they are going to adhere to the same basic philosophies...I.e. market agnostic, minimalist, volatile, the four market types. To me the most important is the first. PP is a passive portfolio. If in their analysis one moves to active techniques then they are comparing the proverbial apples and oranges. The second most important is the four market types ( or another valid classification method ) for asset composition.

After that, I think the field is wide open for investigation.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by clacy » Mon Jul 18, 2016 5:28 pm

There is absolutely nothing wrong with (IMO), tweaking the PP if that's what it takes to sleep at night.....

-A portfolio made up of something like this certainly wouldn't be the end of the world:

20%- stocks
20%- gold
20%- treasuries
20%- cash
20%- (pick your asset class... high yield bonds, EM, REIT's, etc)

It's your portfolio and you're the one that has to live with whatever consequences come with it.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by MachineGhost » Mon Jul 18, 2016 8:14 pm

FF9000 wrote: [*] Why the 25/25/25/25 allocation? I understand the concept - be in a good place to handle any of the four types of economic scenarios. However, it appears that an evenly-distributed allocation assumes an equal probability for all four scenarios. Particularly in the case of deflation, which is a much less common occurrence than inflation, and would imply that cash holdings are overweighted in the portfolio. While Browne's idea that "you cannot predict the future by looking at history" is accurate, it is overly simplistic. You could use the same logic to say "just because the US Government has not defaulted doesn't mean it won't tomorrow". Again true, but not particularly helpful from an allocation perspective. Or "The PP has worked in the past but might not in the future." If we use historical returns, volatilities, correlations, etc. we can be better at predicting than just assuming equal weighting for all scenarios. And so 25/25/25/25, while elegant and probably "good enough", seems to be "leaving money on the table" even at the same level of risk. In a nutshell, 25/25/25/25 seems like an overly simplistic short-cut. The idea of the four asset classes makes rational sense, but surely there is a better way to determine how to maximize returns for a specific level of risk based on asset correlations, returns, and volatility. Has this been assessed by anybody?
The PP is a simplified version of the portfolio that is in use in the PRPFX fund. None of the tweaks to account for volatilites and correlations improve it significantly enough to be worth the bother in having to use different rebalancing bands on different weights than 25%. Search the forum; there's been plenty posted about this (mostly by me) over the years.
FF9000 wrote: [*] In terms of projecting out PP growth, the Portfolio Visualizer isn't a bad tool, but it does not use asset correlations when forecasting based "statistical returns". Has anyone here done a stochastic analysis using not only historical returns for each asset class but also using correlations between asset classes (without using historical years for bootstrapping)? I am thinking something like a Principal Component Analysis could accomplish this but I have not gotten around to doing it myself yet.[/list]
It's been done and it winds up being exactly just like the PP. If you want to knock yourself out, be my guest, but you'll arrive right back at the PP. Statistics and correlations are not real world drivers of returns -- they're artifacts.

If you want some fish to fry, then focus on diversifying the Prosperity assets and look at tactical allocation rather than tweaking the strategic allocation.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by Kbg » Mon Jul 18, 2016 9:24 pm

With regard to tactical allocation and the four assets...I've hoed that row quite a bit and I don't find much to commend it either that isn't an artifact of data mining. At the end of the day, I think HB came to the right conclusion...if you have strong feelings/opinions toward an asset class or future market type then just tilt accordingly and live with your decision and associated performance.

Depending on age (younger) I'd definitely tilt some to equities.

In any event, sometimes the board can almost sound psychopantic about HB but if you get dirty with the data you eventually come to: wow, smart guy.

One other place to read: Go to GestaultU and I believe in 2011 or 12 they wrote an excellent series of articles on the PP and various/more advanced asset weighting methods.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by dualstow » Mon Jul 18, 2016 9:34 pm

Hey, sycophants are not always psychos. ;)
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by Dieter » Mon Jul 18, 2016 10:51 pm

The PP is one of the few portfolios that can include your emergency cash as part of the portfolio. (not everyone does, of course.)

If include, retirement accounts may be 30/30/30/10 with emergency funds outside the 401(k) or IRA rounding out the Cash allocation.

Also, as Clacy says, the 5 20's, with Small Cap Value being another choice give more growth opportunity with less downside protection --
40% geared to prosperity, 40% in volatile 'other' (Gold/LTT), and 20% cash.

Conversely, part of the idea is that your human capital is worth the most during prosperity and is the real wealth builder.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by FF9000 » Tue Jul 19, 2016 10:29 am

Thanks for all the great replies, guys. I really appreciate the helpful and intelligent discussion. I'm excited about joining the community, although honestly I hope I am very inactive since that would mean that my money is safely growing slowly and off my mind. :D

Since yesterday, I have gone on a spree and have built a stochastic VBA model that uses historical block bootstrapping (to preserve asset class correlations in a simple manner). Using this model, I have run various allocation scenarios to see what the probability is that I do not reach $X in Y years. Still tweaking it, but it gives me a lot of confidence in the PP as a way of decreasing the risk of not reaching my goals.

By way of background, I am turning 32 shortly and am aiming to definitely be financially independent by 40. The PP can get me there in 99.3% of (50,000) stochastic scenarios, assuming it performs as it has throughout history (big if, I know). And it can give me a 16% chance of getting there by 38.

Compare to a 40/60 stock/bond portfolio that gives me a 96.6% chance by 40 and 21% chance by 38.

Not a huge difference, but the low standard deviation makes me feel better about it.

I will share the spreadsheet when it is complete.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by FF9000 » Tue Jul 19, 2016 10:38 am

Another question - I understand that a large part of the reason that HB recommends 25% in cash/T-bills is in case of deflation. Fair point. However, I understand that another reason he believes in 25% cash is that it can represent an "emergency fund".

I personally do not subscribe to the need for an emergency fund as I am employed and have very marketable skills that make me as confident as anybody that in case I lost my job, I would not be unemployed for long. I also do not have a family and have no dependents, and am healthy with good health insurance. Moreover, I have a strong social safety net with family that could support me for a bit in the case that somehow, despite all of the above, I completely ran out of money. Which won't happen.

Point being, I do not believe in keeping more than $15-20K in cash, ever, for emergency fund purposes given my specific situation. Now, I am pretty sure I know the answer will be "keep 25% in cash anyway", but I wanted to ask the peanut gallery whether this fact should in any way influence the cash holdings %.

I know the party line is 25/25/25/25, but I am looking for some contrarian/thoughtful opinions. Thanks again!
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by goodasgold » Tue Jul 19, 2016 11:14 am

FF9000 wrote: Point being, I do not believe in keeping more than $15-20K in cash, ever, for emergency fund purposes given my specific situation...., but I want... to ask the peanut gallery whether this fact should in any way influence the cash holdings %.

I know the party line is 25/25/25/25, but I am looking for some contrarian/thoughtful opinions. Thanks again!
It is great that you can soon find another job. But what if circumstances change? What if something unexpected happens, such as a horrendous car crash, which leaves you unable to work? This can happen in a fraction of a second, changing your life forever.

This is just one scenario pointing out why St. Harry B's wisdom is still sound with regard to emergency cash.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by iwealth » Tue Jul 19, 2016 11:22 am

FF9000 wrote:I personally do not subscribe to the need for an emergency fund as I am employed and have very marketable skills that make me as confident as anybody that in case I lost my job, I would not be unemployed for long. I also do not have a family and have no dependents, and am healthy with good health insurance. Moreover, I have a strong social safety net with family that could support me for a bit in the case that somehow, despite all of the above, I completely ran out of money. Which won't happen.
Falling back on a strong social safety net because you didn't put aside enough of an emergency fund is pretty much the equivalent of putting aside someone else's cash as your emergency fund.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by FF9000 » Tue Jul 19, 2016 11:28 am

Interesting hypothetical, but at the end of the day, if I am in a horrendous car crash that changes my life forever, 25/25/25/25 vs. 35/25/10/25 will be the least of my worries. I am trying to focus on non-doomsday scenarios. I am quite risk-averse, but not so risk-averse that I am willing to financially optimize for a personal catastrophe situation - which, even if it happened, would not be improved substantially by an extra few % in cash. I am trying to maximize my ability to hit my targets in a 5th or 10th percentile "really bad luck" scenario, not a .0001% scenario. Because if I was, I would be 100% in TIPS and not considering early financial independence.
iwealth wrote: Falling back on a strong social safety net because you didn't put aside enough of an emergency fund is pretty much the equivalent of putting aside someone else's cash as your emergency fund.
My point was, I am as "insured" as I need to be. I foresee a <1% chance of needing to tap my social safety net, it's not really part of the conversation. I certainly do not expect it.

I think that at times people tend to be way too conservative. As mentioned above, if you really want to be bullet-proof for a "worst possible case" scenario, you should dedicate your life to building a bomb shelter with 10 years of food preserves, in multiple countries to avoid government risk, work until you are 75, and never invest in equities.

There is a line that needs to be drawn between "conservative/risk-averse" and "unwilling to accept any risk whatsoever at any point."
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by Xan » Tue Jul 19, 2016 12:29 pm

The other thing about cash is that it's the way to benefit immediately from interest rate increases. Yes, in this 0% world, it seems like cash is "parked" and useless. But that won't last forever. Historically, 100% cash actually hasn't had such a bad return. It's also the only part of the portfolio you can actually use to buy groceries.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by stuper1 » Tue Jul 19, 2016 12:31 pm

Try your model with 1/3 in each of stocks, long bonds, and gold. You'll probably like what you see. Although keeping some percentage in cash, maybe 10%, can help with rebalancing. Unfortunately this approach will give you a longer duration in bonds/cash which won't be pretty when rates rise.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by FF9000 » Tue Jul 19, 2016 12:36 pm

Great points, guys. I admit I forgot about the LTT + Cash = ITT duration match but with incremental benefits in different economic scenarios.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by Xan » Tue Jul 19, 2016 12:41 pm

All that said, for my PP that's in my traditional IRA (I have a PP in each different tax treatment, at least at the moment), I'm 33/33/33/0, with no cash. But that's money that won't be touched for decades.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by iwealth » Tue Jul 19, 2016 12:43 pm

FF9000 wrote:Great points, guys. I admit I forgot about the LTT + Cash = ITT duration match but with incremental benefits in different economic scenarios.
Also, consider your max drawdown tolerance. Some people are more inclined than others to do unwise things once portfolio values fall a certain amount. It's hard to know though until you've experienced some pain.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by ochotona » Tue Jul 19, 2016 4:43 pm

Or try 25% stocks, 25% gold, and 50% 10 year Treasury bonds. It's actually better performing than the PP... but you can never buy anything. Waffle House doesn't take 10-Ts
Last edited by ochotona on Tue Jul 19, 2016 6:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by buddtholomew » Tue Jul 19, 2016 5:32 pm

ochotona wrote:Or try 25% stocks, 25% cash, and 50% 10 year Treasury bonds. It's actually better performing than the PP... but you can never buy anything. Waffle House doesn't take 10-Ts
I think you mean 25% stocks and 25% gold with the balance in ITT's.

I like cash and low volatility, so choose to hold a total of 40% in savings accounts and CD's when including emergency funds in the calculation.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by MachineGhost » Tue Jul 19, 2016 11:18 pm

ochotona wrote:Or try 25% stocks, 25% gold, and 50% 10 year Treasury bonds. It's actually better performing than the PP... but you can never buy anything. Waffle House doesn't take 10-Ts
Depends on your definition of "better performing". It makes slightly less CAGR but also slightly less MaxDD.
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Re: Things about the PP that do not make sense to me

Post by KevinW » Wed Jul 20, 2016 1:44 pm

The cash component:
- Retains value during tight-money recessions, so that you can "buy low" on stocks, or even consumer purchases such as real estate and cars.
- Prevents you from "selling low" on other assets when you withdraw from the portfolio (as Sophie has analyzed).
- Performs well when interest rates rise quickly (as Xan pointed out). Cash drove a lot of PP returns during the inflationary 1980s.
- Makes moving money in or out of the portfolio tax-free and convenient.
- Reduces the volatility of the overall portfolio.

Yes, it can also function in place of an emergency fund, which is a happy side effect. But PP cash wasn't designed to be an emergency fund. It was designed to do the items listed above, as part of a cohesive whole.
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