Gold Price Decline

Posted on 15 April, 2013 by Craig Rowland

Gold is falling and it’s big news. Here are some comments in terms of the Permanent Portfolio, which holds gold. First of all, all the assets have been going up in tandem for a bit of time. It is almost inevitable with this investing approach that one is going to fall off the rear of the pack. And if we consider how we want our diversification to work, this is expected. Investors that hold a portfolio where everything is going up all once can also be in a portfolio where everything can go down at once. You need to have assets that outperform, and yes you need assets that underperform. This is just how diversification works. I have been running the portfolio for almost seven years now. During that time I’ve experienced -40% losses to stocks in 2008, -20% losses to bonds in 2009, and now potentially a gold market Continue reading →

Harry Browne’s Books – Re-Issued in Kindle Format

Posted on 14 February, 2013 by Craig Rowland

My apologies for not blogging about this much sooner, but it fell off my radar and I was recently reminded. Many of Harry Browne’s books have been re-issued in electronic format for the Kindle and other e-readers. Now you can read his timeless writings in a modern format you keep in your back pocket! Fail-Safe Investing - A finely written simple guide to the Permanent Portfolio. How You Can Profit from the Coming Devaluation - The book that launched Harry Browne’s career in investing writing. Contains a great overview of how modern monetary systems work. You Can Profit from a Monetary Crisis - A follow-up book exploring more about the problems of the dollar in the 1970s and ways to profit/protect yourself. New Profits from the Monetary Crisis - Continuations of the theme during the 1970s high inflation. How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World - Harry Browne’s classic book on organizing your life and Continue reading →

Schwab Offers More Commission Free ETFs for the Permanent Portfolio

Posted on 12 February, 2013 by Craig Rowland

Forum member KevinW found this piece of good news from Schwab. They have expanded their list of ETFs that trade commission free to now include a gold ETF: Schwab Commission Free ETFs Notably, the list includes ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (SGOL). So it is now possible to implement a 4×25 PP at Schwab with zero commissions: SCHB, SCHO, SGOL, and individual bonds. Translated for the ticker-impared: 25% Stocks - SCHB – Schwab’s U.S. Total Stock Market ETF (Expense Ratio of 0.04%!) 25% Cash – SCHO – Schwab’s Short-Term U.S. Treasury Notes (Expense Ratio of 0.08%) 25% Gold – SGOL – Physical Swiss Gold ETF (Expense Ratio of 0.39%) 25% Bonds – Buy them directly from Schwab’s bond desk (Expense Ratio of 0.00%!) First preference for gold ownership is still going to be one of the physical storage options we list out in our book. But if you need (or want) to Continue reading →