Taylor Larimore's "Gems": The Permanent Portfolio

[barry barnitz]

Hi:

Taylor Larimore, a co-author, of the Bogleheads Guide To Investing, has penned a "Gems" post on Craig and J.L.'s new book, The Permanent Portfolio: Harry Browne's Long-Term Investment Strategy. The gems are selected as a quick way to learn many of the best ideas from the best authors, and to help you decide if the book merits further reading.

Here is the post: Bogleheads • View topic - The Permanent Portfolio -- A Gem

As is customary, we add new gems to our wiki page, Taylor Larimore's Investment Gems. The included books are listed alphabetically.

regards,

[MediumTex]

Thank you for posting the link.

[craigr]

Thanks Barry.

[dualstow]

That's not the same Clive as the one who posts here.
...Is it? 
Can't be.

[Pointedstick]

Not anymore he doesn't. Looks like he was banned and all his posts were deleted. There are now quite a few humorous threads where stone looks like he's talking to himself!

[MediumTex]

Not anymore he doesn't. Looks like he was banned and all his posts were deleted. There are now quite a few humorous threads where stone looks like he's talking to himself!

Well, it looks like Clive deleted his own account.  I looked at our ban log and neither Craig nor I banned him.

Clive obviously deleted his posts as well.

We've never banned someone just because we didn't like what they posted. 

I wish that Clive felt differently, but I suppose that you can't put yourself out there with a book and an unorthodox strategy and not get some stones thrown at you sooner or later.

[Pointedstick]

That's sort of weird. I really appreciated his posts. He clearly wasn't a big PP enthusiast, but he brought an interesting dissenting perspective. That comment on the BH forums was completely uncalled-for though. Maybe he packed up and left because it would be too awkward to stick around here after badmouthing you elsewhere so dishonorably.

[stone]

Clive has done a mass deletion of his post before. I think it is a regular thing for him. I also think he adds a lot. Hope to see a whole new set of post from you Clive!

[dualstow]

So it is the same Clive? Strange.
I always appreciated his graph- and data-rich posts, and he always seemed very level-headed to me.
I did notice that he wasn't so excited about the pp strategy, far less so than the average member here, and he seemed to work leverage ideas into nearly every thread. Still...if he hadn't used the same username at bogleheads, I would not have made the connection.

As for post deletions, I thought that was about protecting his identity.

[Gumby]

He'll be back. He's probably just doing an identity/data purge. I can see the reasoning for not wanting his opinions and recommendations to be documented for eternity.

[Reub]

Clive, I will miss you if you don't return. Your insights and style are simply fantastic. I wish that you would reconsider your opinion on profiting from Harry Browne's theories. There is nothing wrong with carrying on an idea and a vision as interesting as HB's. Writing a book that does just that and making a profit at the same time is just fine in my opinion. I also think that Harry would approve.

[Xan]

He'll be back. He's probably just doing an identity/data purge. I can see the reasoning for not wanting his opinions and recommendations to be documented for eternity.

Yeah, if I had some of his opinions, I sure wouldn't want anyone to know about it either!

[Ad Orientem]

That was a really nice recommendation by Taylor. His use of of all those quotes was brilliant as he basically wrote a review entirely by letting the work stand on its own.

Re Clive: He has been one of the more interesting contributors on this forum and I too hope he is simply doing one of his periodic purges. Even on those occasions when I disagreed with him (not all that frequent other than on the PP) I always found his arguments to be well reasoned and liberally supported with facts and statistics.

[craigr]

That was a really nice recommendation by Taylor. His use of of all those quotes was brilliant as he basically wrote a review entirely by letting the work stand on its own.

Taylor is a very gracious person. I only hope to be as diplomatic and patient as he is one day.

[MediumTex]

That was a really nice recommendation by Taylor. His use of of all those quotes was brilliant as he basically wrote a review entirely by letting the work stand on its own.

Taylor is a very gracious person. I only hope to be as diplomatic and patient as he is one day.

I feel the same way.  I appreciate the favorable mention of the book very much.

[smurff]

I recall Clive discussing on this forum that he periodically deletes his old posts for privacy reasons. (Those posts are gone so I can't link them.)  I think he worked in the finance industry, but I could be mistaken.  Something may have come up (job, evaluation, etc) where he decided that he should not have anything on this forum, even if he does contribute on Bogleheads. He's never been 100% sold on the PP, which is normal, so the views he put on Bogleheads are not surprising. It's good to have someone with a different view who can post counter arguments without being antagonistic, so I hope he comes back.

Taylor's recommendation is great. I'm glad he put it up.

[MachineGhost]

He'll be back. He's probably just doing an identity/data purge. I can see the reasoning for not wanting his opinions and recommendations to be documented for eternity.

I do too, but when I went back to try to delete older posts, it wouldnt let me.

New rule: Do not start a new topic if you ever want to delete your posts.

AFAIK, besides myself and clive, 1984D, FarmerD, AgAuMoney are the only other ones that haven't totally drunk the Kool-Aid in regards to the PP.  What do the rest y'all have to say for yourselfs!!!

[MachineGhost]

That's not the same Clive as the one who posts here.
...Is it? 
Can't be.

I thought Clive lived in the UK, not Miami FL, and was retired.  Though I understand a lot of British go to Miami during the winter.

[steve]

That was a really nice recommendation by Taylor. His use of of all those quotes was brilliant as he basically wrote a review entirely by letting the work stand on its own.

Taylor is a very gracious person. I only hope to be as diplomatic and patient as he is one day.

I feel the same way.  I appreciate the favorable mention of the book very much.

When I started out Taylor took me sailing, I use the blue ribbon we won in the sailboat race as my bookmark for my Bogleheads guide to investing book!

[MediumTex]

He'll be back. He's probably just doing an identity/data purge. I can see the reasoning for not wanting his opinions and recommendations to be documented for eternity.

I do too, but when I went back to try to delete older posts, it wouldnt let me.

New rule: Do not start a new topic if you ever want to delete your posts.

PM me if you would like me to assist with your post and topic pruning.  I can make whatever changes you want.

AFAIK, besides myself and clive, 1984D, FarmerD, AgAuMoney are the only other ones that haven't totally drunk the Kool-Aid in regards to the PP.  What do the rest y'all have to say for yourselfs!!!

I have sort of come to see the PP as a Methadone clinic for people trying to come off the Kool-Aid that others have been feeding them.

[dualstow]

MG, I've drunk the Kool Aid and I'm loving it. I'm curious to see what happens if gold or bonds crash, although just because someone doesn't stick around and post, that doesn't mean they've given up (ie lost their discipline).

I recall Clive discussing on this forum that he periodically deletes his old posts for privacy reasons.

This is true, and a couple of us mentioned it.

I think he worked in the finance industry, but I could be mistaken.

I'm not positive, but I thought he said he'd been living off investments for some time.

[Ad Orientem]

MG, I've drunk the Kool Aid and I'm loving it. I'm curious to see what happens if gold or bonds crash, although just because someone doesn't stick around and post, that doesn't mean they've given up (ie lost their discipline).

There have been serious asset collapses over the last forty years. Bonds got murdered in the 70's and stocks barely broke even assuming you were reinvesting dividends. Gold went into a brutal secular bear market in the 1980s that didn't hit bottom until 1999. Stocks have seen three actual market crashes, 1973, 1987, and 2008-09. The PP has performed as advertised in all these scenarios.