I just recently listened to a podcast that research your same question: 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/10/ ... ur-economy

I have a sizable chunk of money from a home sale.  I am currently renting and I am planning on building in the next 12-18 months.  I invest in the 4/25 with my retirement accounts, but I am not sure if that is a good idea for this period of time.  Right now I have it sitting in a money market accoun...

I am happy with tradeking.

You could use a Coverdell Education Savings Account.  I use this strategy for my son's college savings.  I use ETFs for gold (GLD and SGOL), stocks (VTI), and long term bonds (TLT) in the coverdell account and then I use I-Bonds for the cash component.  You can set up a coverdell account at most dis...

It doesn't offer a brokerage window.  I have my permanent portfolio in a Roth IRA.  I found it messy to have some pieces in the 401k and some in the Roth.  It made rebalancing difficult and also I didn't know how to weigh them to make up for their difference in tax treatment.  That's why I came to t...

I currently invest in the 4 x 25 permanent portfolio.  I also have a 401k that I invest in to get my company match.  I treat my 401k as my variable portfolio.  I would like to use a moderate to aggressive strategy within my variable portfolio.  I respect the financial minds here, so I thought it wou...

I am currently using SHY.  Is there any advantage to using one over the other?

What are some good ETF options for the cash component within an IRA?