Gyroscopic Investing

I've been thinking about adding a global (non-U.S.) component to my Golden Butterfly portfolio, because hey it's a big world out there and it wasn't nearly as big when Harry Browne defined the Permanent Portfolio back in the 1990s. (Yes, I know, on the one hand there is currency risk, but on the other hand non-U.S. equities might not be highly correlated with U.S. equities.) Things change and maybe I need to change with them!

Revisiting my well-worn copy of Rowland and Lawson, I see that they're not as negative about international equities as I had remembered - although they do suggest that if you want to go this route you should limit the exposure to 5-10% of your portfolio.

Not being a Vanguard investor, I've been looking into the iShares MSCI Global Minimum Volatility Factor ETF (ACWV). Does anyone on the forum have experience with that one or with ACWI? What are folks here using for global exposure? Is this something that you'd recommend, or do you think we get enough global exposure through U.S. companies that have a global economic presence?

stpeter wrote: ↑Fri Jan 02, 2026 9:29 am Is this something that you'd recommend, or do you think we get enough global exposure through U.S. companies that have a global economic presence?

I think that US companies provide enough global exposure. I prefer to stick with only US equities primarily due to the currency risk. Stocks are in the PP for when the dominant economic theme is prosperity. I don't want returns from prosperity to be adjusted by currency differences. I pay for things with US dollars. The US dollar is my unit of measure. The weak US dollar in 2025 boosted returns of non-US equities relative to US equities, but the 60% return on gold more than covered for the weak dollar.

coasting wrote: ↑Fri Jan 02, 2026 4:37 pm

stpeter wrote: ↑Fri Jan 02, 2026 9:29 am Is this something that you'd recommend, or do you think we get enough global exposure through U.S. companies that have a global economic presence?

I think that US companies provide enough global exposure. I prefer to stick with only US equities primarily due to the currency risk. Stocks are in the PP for when the dominant economic theme is prosperity. I don't want returns from prosperity to be adjusted by currency differences. I pay for things with US dollars. The US dollar is my unit of measure. The weak US dollar in 2025 boosted returns of non-US equities relative to US equities, but the 60% return on gold more than covered for the weak dollar.

That's always the way I thought about it, too, but I'm beginning to wonder. Prosperity might not be evenly distributed or highly correlated - e.g., India might be doing great while the U.S. is struggling, so why not benefit from prosperity happening there?

Also I'll admit that 2025 returns outside the U.S. were pretty impressive, as "I Shrugged" pointed out recently in another thread: viewtopic.php?p=259655#p259655