Stop loss or limit order for Gold ETFs to lock in gains and minize losses

Discussion of the Gold portion of the Permanent Portfolio

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BP
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Stop loss or limit order for Gold ETFs to lock in gains and minize losses

Post by BP »

I was listening to HB'S radio shows today and in one of the episodes he mentioned that his newsletter gave its readers advice to put in a stop loss order in order to protect the run up in silver prices as HB believed that the downside risk was greater than the upside risk (much like gold today perhaps). 

Has anyone ever considered using a stop loss or limit order for the gold portion of the PP to lock in gains and minimize losses? 

My gut tells me that costs/taxes might limit any gains,  but thought that with the wealth of knowledge here that someone had already considered doing the same.
I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, or physician.  My posts are not advice of any type and should not be construed as such.  My posts are used at the sole risk of the reader.
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craigr
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Re: Stop loss or limit order for Gold ETFs to lock in gains and minize losses

Post by craigr »

No. I think they expose you to being whipsawed. I wrote about this here:

https://web.archive.org/web/20160324133 ... portfolio/

But then once you're out, then what? You need to decide when to get back in. So do you wait? How long? When you do get back in, will it then drop? Suppose it keeps going up and you have regrets, etc.

I think mechanical rebalancing works best. Set a hard limit for each allocation and then rebalance when they are hit. It takes a lot of emotions out of the equation.

I think stop-losses should really only be considered for very speculative plays. Most of the time I don't want things happening automatically in my portfolio. I want to be able to assess the situation myself and make a rational decision on what to do.
BP
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Re: Stop loss or limit order for Gold ETFs to lock in gains and minize losses

Post by BP »

Thanks!
I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, or physician.  My posts are not advice of any type and should not be construed as such.  My posts are used at the sole risk of the reader.
Mdraf
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Re: Stop loss or limit order for Gold ETFs to lock in gains and minize losses

Post by Mdraf »

In retrospect having a stop loss on our gold in February would have saved us a lot of grief. I'm reconsidering the no-stop-loss strategy
Alanw
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Re: Stop loss or limit order for Gold ETFs to lock in gains and minize losses

Post by Alanw »

Mdraf wrote: In retrospect having a stop loss on our gold in February would have saved us a lot of grief. I'm reconsidering the no-stop-loss strategy
Look at the chart on Gold since 2000.  At which dip would you have been stopped out and missed the next leg up.  In the long run, trying to time the market will fail IMO.  I only wish I had discovered the PP in 2000 to realize the gains in Gold through rebalancing.
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craigr
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Re: Stop loss or limit order for Gold ETFs to lock in gains and minize losses

Post by craigr »

craigr wrote: No. I think they expose you to being whipsawed. I wrote about this here:

https://web.archive.org/web/20160324133 ... portfolio/

But then once you're out, then what? You need to decide when to get back in. So do you wait? How long? When you do get back in, will it then drop? Suppose it keeps going up and you have regrets, etc.

I think mechanical rebalancing works best. Set a hard limit for each allocation and then rebalance when they are hit. It takes a lot of emotions out of the equation.

I think stop-losses should really only be considered for very speculative plays. Most of the time I don't want things happening automatically in my portfolio. I want to be able to assess the situation myself and make a rational decision on what to do.
I still stand by these comments!
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