Gyroscopic Investing

I, for one, am glad that the PRPFX adds 5% silver to its portfolio, seeing how that asset has performed over the last few years. Could this be another "secret weapon" of this fund versus the HB PP?

It's not as much fun when silver is falling in value, as it was in 2008.

I think Warren Buffet once bought silver when it was at a 20-year low. Since it's at a 31-year high, I suppose I'm glad that I don't have to spring for it. Gold is enough of a hassle, and I begrudgingly pay the 4.5% above spot to hold it, hoping that it'll come through someday in the future.

With PRPFX its no hassle at all.

Reub wrote: With PRPFX its no hassle at all.

True enough, and I did buy a small piece before going DIY which I still hold.

dualstow- if you bought physical gold any time in last few years, you haven't had to wait too long to get back your 4.5% commission!

murphy_p_t wrote: dualstow- if you bought physical gold any time in last few years, you haven't had to wait too long to get back your 4.5% commission!

You got that right.  As of last week, I'm above water. (started buying in December 2010, I think). The way things turned out, I had very little time to worry or complain. What a ripoff!  :D
Seriously, when I took the plunge I told myself that physical holdings were for the very long term. Members here reminded me that I may never have to sell this core holding of bullion, and that there is no fee to just hold it. I'll try to keep that in mind when the value does drop. In the meantime, I wish I had put more into the pp when I first learned of it. Naturally.

dualstow wrote: In the meantime, I wish I had put more into the pp when I first learned of it. Naturally.

Isn't it amazing how our perception of the same outside reality can shift?

It takes a while, but once a person "gets" the PP concept, I'm sure it is often quite an "aha" moment.  It was for me.

The PP went from looking crazy to looking very clever.

Definitely, MT. My holdings are still young, so I wasn't able to enjoy watching pp/prpfx navigate 2008 so skillfully*. When I told my father, a lifelong investor, that I had bought gold, he said "Well you definitely paid full price." We're both watching gold's recent climb with interest, but I am also smiling.

Not that I want another calamity -- that would clobber my vp -- but I'm sure another blow to the stock market that coincides with gold or treasuries swinging into action would crush any lingering doubts, if there are any.

*forgive the personification

S&P wrote:trouble ahead

I said I don't want a calamity!

MediumTex wrote: The PP went from looking crazy to looking very clever.

has.

The PP sure does feel like cheating at times.  Something this safe has no business returning as well as it has.  People will eventually start ignoring it as too conservative without realizing that it doesn't have to be your entire portfolio.  The big lesson is, if you take anything away from the PP discussion, 1) you should always have a very safe store of cash, 2) Gold is an unmatched form of insurance to have in a portfolio for times of currency/political problems, and 3) LT bonds will perform unlike any other asset in times of a deflationary recession.

These movements are reliable on a macroeconomic level that other assets are not.  This is a GOOD thing, since when the macroeconomic wheels are turning, even the best-run companies and the best "inflation hedges" (based on credit expansion (real estate)) aren't going to offer the protection you need.

Way too many people look at the 4x25 rigidity and historical gains and may or may not love it.  As stocks climb out of their duldrums, and gold and LT's retrench themselves as the public's most hated assets (if they ever left that position), these same people that didn't take the time to learn about the macroeconomic nuances of the PP will abandon it.  Gold won't be poised to "match inflation" and LT treasuries will look ridiculous as gas passes $4 per gallon.