Search found 72 matches

by christina
Wed Jun 06, 2012 3:00 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: The 50-50 Solution
Replies: 28
Views: 17256

Re: The 50-50 Solution

I also think the "bond" portion of way too many portfolios tends to be 1) too short in duration (even when they ARE long duration, they're callable so it's pointless), and 2) too risky (mortgages, munis, corporates, foreign, etc). I think the fact that the 50% bond portion is longer in duration and...
by christina
Wed Jun 06, 2012 1:10 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: time of year to rebalance
Replies: 18
Views: 9067

Re: time of year to rebalance

Thanks, Tortoise. I remember HB saying to put new contributions in cash. But I didn't read this passage carefully enough: "Whenever you have additional funds to invest, you don’t need to divide the additions evenly among the four investments. Just put the new money into the cash portion. If you do ...
by christina
Wed Jun 06, 2012 1:05 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: time of year to rebalance
Replies: 18
Views: 9067

Re: time of year to rebalance

Thanks, Tortoise. I remember HB saying to put new contributions in cash. But I didn't read this passage carefully enough: "Whenever you have additional funds to invest, you don’t need to divide the additions evenly among the four investments. Just put the new money into the cash portion. If you do t...
by christina
Wed Jun 06, 2012 12:48 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: To the Canadian PP folks: how does ZFL compare to holding individual bonds
Replies: 4
Views: 3211

To the Canadian PP folks: how does ZFL compare to holding individual bonds

The question is in the subject line. I will be performing a rebalance soon, and have to buy some bonds, but unfortunately I need less than the 5K minimum. So I will be putting cash into ZFL instead (unless there is a better option). I would like to know how closely ZFL comes to tracking 45-year bond...
by christina
Fri Jun 01, 2012 2:29 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Permanent Portfolio for Canadians
Replies: 12
Views: 6531

Re: Permanent Portfolio for Canadians

The other thing about doing a plain vanilla Canadian PP  is that you have lower transaction fees, because you hold fewer ETFs. Another thing to consider if you're just starting out: For bonds, I'm pretty sure you have to buy a minimum of 5K-worth. If you want to hold smaller amounts, you can use the...
by christina
Fri Jun 01, 2012 9:50 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: do we agree that we're in a period of deflation?
Replies: 27
Views: 10838

Re: do we agree that we're in a period of deflation?

For the deflationists: what do you make of the fact that prices aren't actually falling but rising ?  For the inflationists:  what to make of record low yields on LT bonds ? The whole narrative strikes me as a messy "work in progress".  I'd suggest staying diversified.   8) [/quote] Right, Lone Wolf...
by christina
Fri Jun 01, 2012 9:45 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: time of year to rebalance
Replies: 18
Views: 9067

Re: time of year to rebalance

Because I don't have very much money, by bi-weekly contributions into cash cause my cash pot to become overweighted. If I were to rebalance out of cash to maintain my bands, I'd have to do it twice a year, maybe more. That would cost me a lot of money in transaction fees. So I was thinking that a on...
by christina
Thu May 31, 2012 9:36 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: do we agree that we're in a period of deflation?
Replies: 27
Views: 10838

do we agree that we're in a period of deflation?

The PP is supposed to take advantage of (and protect you from) all economic conditions. What economic season are we in now? Deflation? Are we still in a transitional period? I know, this question comes up a lot, but I *still* don't have an answer, and it's been almost a year since I've been looking ...
by christina
Thu May 31, 2012 9:24 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: time of year to rebalance
Replies: 18
Views: 9067

time of year to rebalance

Hello there,
Canadian PP still hanging in at 2% gains since October 2010 when I started. But that's not why I posted :-)

I'm wondering if it's OK to do a rebalance this October.
Somebody here said that rebalancing in the fall is not a good idea. Should I wait till a better time?
THanks!
by christina
Thu May 31, 2012 9:22 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Where should new contributions go?
Replies: 54
Views: 32912

Re: Where should new contributions go?

I have been accumulating into cash and plan to do a once-a-year re-balance out of cash into my other positions. I do this for two reasons: 1. My employer forces me to use Manulife funds, and Manulife only lets me take money out of their funds once a year. If manulife offered all the necessary funds ...
by christina
Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:11 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: printing money does not equal inflation
Replies: 22
Views: 8049

Re: printing money does not equal inflation

Right, ok. By "printing money" I just mean "increasing the money supply". Japan is one example of where the government has increased money supply and inflation hasn't happened. I suppose this is occurring because the *demand* for money is going up in tandem, thus zeroing out inflation? (I guess the ...
by christina
Mon Apr 02, 2012 12:56 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: I just want reassurance that the canadian PP is ok
Replies: 6
Views: 3660

Re: I just want reassurance that the canadian PP is ok

thank-you.
Yes, I will stay the course with the PP as it seems to make logical sense.
I think the key for me is to not look at my portfolio, which I haven't done in about 2 weeks now (go me!).
I can't find the original article, but I think it was in the Financial Post.
by christina
Mon Apr 02, 2012 12:48 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: printing money does not equal inflation
Replies: 22
Views: 8049

printing money does not equal inflation

Hi, I **think** I read on this board that printing money does not necessarily lead to inflation. If I recall correctly, money printing precipitated by a credit crisis does not lead to inflation, according to the historical record. Now I'm not 100% sure I got this right.  Could somebody set me straig...
by christina
Mon Mar 19, 2012 11:53 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: Document your international Permanent Portfolio
Replies: 39
Views: 23229

Re: Document your international Permanent Portfolio

Canadian PP with not that much money. I have to put my new contributions into Manulife funds to get an employer match. I have to do some funky stuff to get my allocations right. 1. Gold: IGT etf (I will switch to have some physical gold when I have more money.) 2. Bonds: Canadian longest term bonds ...
by christina
Mon Mar 19, 2012 11:34 am
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: I just want reassurance that the canadian PP is ok
Replies: 6
Views: 3660

I just want reassurance that the canadian PP is ok

Hi, While my US counterparts have seen the SP go up up up, the TSX is up only 5% since I bought in to the PP in October. In the news, it says that the TSX has not been doing as well as the S&P because gold and oil are down (and they feature heavily in the TSX, presumably). This suggests a correlatio...
by christina
Mon Jan 09, 2012 3:44 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: pp or solid bond fund for education savings plan for kids
Replies: 9
Views: 3893

pp or solid bond fund for education savings plan for kids

I am just starting an education savings plan for my kids, age 4 and 6, so my time horizon is a little over 10 years. I have under $1k saved. I was wondering whether you would suggest PP at this stage, given the lack of money and the medium time horizon. I worry about transaction fees, which are $20 ...
by christina
Thu Nov 03, 2011 12:58 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: What We Have Learned About Rebalancing
Replies: 46
Views: 20412

Re: What We Have Learned About Rebalancing

MediumTex wrote:
christina wrote: What is the argument *against* using zero coupon bonds?
Low levels of liquidity and high bid/ask spreads in zero coupon funds and bad tax treatment outside of tax deferred accounts are a few objections.
Thanks!
by christina
Thu Nov 03, 2011 12:40 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: What We Have Learned About Rebalancing
Replies: 46
Views: 20412

Re: What We Have Learned About Rebalancing

What is the argument *against* using zero coupon bonds?
by christina
Tue Nov 01, 2011 10:35 am
Forum: Gold
Topic: new offering by the Canadian Mint - direct ownership of gold at .35% MER
Replies: 5
Views: 3711

new offering by the Canadian Mint - direct ownership of gold at .35% MER

Hey, The Canadian Mint will be offering direct ownership of gold, to be held in its vault in Ottawa. To buy the gold, you need to buy exchange traded receipts (ETRs) on the Toronto stock exchange. http://www.mint.ca/store/news/royal-canadian-mint-announces-offering-of-new-gold-investment-product-131...
by christina
Mon Oct 31, 2011 11:14 am
Forum: Other Discussions
Topic: Japan's deflation is on purpose?
Replies: 5
Views: 2851

Japan's deflation is on purpose?

Maybe some of you have opinions on this piece, which I found by googling "Japan deflation myth" :-) http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north799.html here is a quote: Here is the ideal scenario: no monetary inflation and output increasing by 2% to 3% per annum. Consumer prices fall by 2% to 3% per annu...
by christina
Sat Oct 29, 2011 2:18 pm
Forum: Permanent Portfolio Discussion
Topic: How can PP Possibly Work Outside of the US?
Replies: 10
Views: 4143

Re: How can PP Possibly Work Outside of the US?

I'm not sure whether this helps or not but, 1. canadian bonds will go up in the event of a canadian deflation. 2. canadian equities will go up in the event of a canadian prosperity. 3. I don't actually understand how gold is supposed to work for me as a canadian (since it protects against US devalua...
by christina
Fri Oct 28, 2011 3:00 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: How to decide which bond to buy
Replies: 10
Views: 4160

Re: How to decide which bond to buy

OK, yes, the duration is all that matters.
There is a lot of clutter around yield/coupons, etc...I'm kind of glad I can ignore it.
by christina
Fri Oct 28, 2011 1:21 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: How to decide which bond to buy
Replies: 10
Views: 4160

Re: How to decide which bond to buy

OK. I shouldn't pay attention to coupon/yield because it has already been priced into the bond -- is that correct? So even though the 35-year bond (#1) has a slightly lower yield and lower coupon than the 25 -year bond (#3), the price of the bond will reflect these discrepancies.
by christina
Fri Oct 28, 2011 12:13 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: How to decide which bond to buy
Replies: 10
Views: 4160

How to decide which bond to buy

I see a bunch of long term federal canadian bonds in front of me. The stats are: Bond#1: coupon: 3.5/Maturity:2045/offer price:108.973/Offer yield:3.073 Bond #2: coupon: 4.0/Maturity:2041/offer price:118.251/Offer yield:3.058 Bond #3: coupon: 5.0/Maturity:2037/offer price:133.819/Offer yield: 3.080 ...
by christina
Thu Oct 27, 2011 9:48 pm
Forum: Bonds
Topic: Danger of Bond ETF's vs Direct Purchase
Replies: 68
Views: 26323

Re: Danger of Bond ETF's vs Direct Purchase

Thanks, CA PP! I can see the bond you mention in the list from scotia itrade. Yes, this is a much better option than ZFL.