A book recommendation

Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud
If you own crypto, or are thinking of dabbling in it; I strongly reccomend reading this book.

Happy Bobby Bonilla Day

Yep, it's that day again. July 1... when each and every year until 2035, the NY Mets drop another $1.19 million into Bobby Bonilla's bank account. The man is proof that not every professional athlete manages their money like an 18 year old who just won the lottery.

A Wall Street big-shot's last testament; "I was wrong."

BURLINGAME, Calif. — There are no one-handed push-ups or headstands on the yoga mat for Gordon Murray anymore.

No more playing bridge, either — he jokingly accuses his brain surgeon of robbing him of the gray matter that contained all the bidding strategy.

But when Mr. Murray, a former bond salesman for Goldman Sachs who rose to the managing director level at both Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse First Boston, decided to cease all treatment five months ago for his glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, his first impulse was not to mourn what he couldn’t do anymore or to buy an island or to move to Paris. Instead, he hunkered down in his tiny home office here and channeled whatever remaining energy he could muster into a slim paperback. It’s called “The Investment Answer,” and he wrote it with his friend and financial adviser Daniel Goldie to explain investing in a handful of simple steps.

Why a book? And why this subject? Nine years ago, after retiring from 25 years of pushing bonds on pension and mutual fund managers who were trying to beat the market averages over long periods of time, Mr. Murray had an epiphany about the futility of his former customers’ pursuits.

He eventually went to work as a consultant for Dimensional Fund Advisors, a mutual fund company that rails against active money management. So when his death sentence arrived, Mr. Murray knew he had to work quickly and resolved to get the word out to as many everyday investors as he could.

“This is one of the true benefits of having a brain tumor,” Mr. Murray said, laughing. “Everyone wants to hear what you have to say.”

Read the rest here.

I can think of other things I would be focusing on were I given advance notice of my impending death. That said, I think this is something worthwhile from a man with his background.

How an 'eccentric' mutual fund beat Wall Street for a decade

Imagine going from investing zero to superhero overnight.

That is roughly what has happened to Michael Cuggino, manager of Permanent Portfolio. After struggling to stay above $50 million in assets for most of its life, the fund shot past $1 billion in 2007, more than doubled to $3.4 billion in 2008 and swelled to $5 billion last year. So far in 2010, $1.9 billion of new money has come piling in.

In August, according to Morningstar, investors added $327 million to the fund—as much in a single month as Permanent Portfolio had managed to accumulate in the entire first 25 years of its existence. Suddenly, the fund's assets surpass $7.6 billion.

Why? Two words: strong results. In 2008, when the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 37%, Permanent Portfolio lost just 8.4%. In 2009, it lagged behind the stock market but still gained 19.1%; so far this year, the fund is up 6%, versus 2.3% for the S&P 500.

The fund has walloped the stock market by an average of nine percentage points annually over the past five years and 11.2 points annually over the past decade. And it keeps less than a third of its assets in stocks.

Launched in 1982 and based in San Francisco, this eccentric, no-load fund grew out of the ideas of Harry Browne, the author, investment adviser and Libertarian candidate for president. Mr. Browne, who died in 2006, advocated keeping one-quarter of your portfolio in each of four assets: stocks, bonds, gold and cash.

Read the rest at the Wall Street Journal.

I don't usually discuss my personal finances on here, but I am gong to make an exception after reading this article. For about four years I have had all or most of my retirement nest egg in this fund (ticker symbol PRPFX). Back when I first discovered it I had more than a few people snicker at me. That stopped a couple of years ago though. This is not where you go to make a pile of quick money. It's where you go (strictly a long term investment) with money for which you have a low risk tolerance. The emphasis is on return OF capital, not return ON capital. That said, it has a history of modest to better than modest returns. When times are rough it will usually outperform stocks and the long-term downside risks are very low because of its radical diversification among asset classes.

Annualized Returns:
3yr - 7.8%
5yr - 9.3%
10yr - 10.5%

Number of Up vs Down years: 24/4

Disclaimer: This is NOT an investment recommendation. Everyone's individual circumstances are going to be different and you should consult a qualified financial planner and do your own due diligence before investing any money anywhere. Blah blah blah...

GOP again blocks finance reform bill

Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked an effort to by Democrats to begin floor debate of legislation overhauling the nation’s financial regulatory system – the third such vote in three days as Democrats sought to paint the Republicans as obstructing tighter rules for Wall Street.

Both sides say they expect the legislation to be approved. If so, it would be the most far-reaching restructuring of the nation’s financial regulatory framework since the aftermath of the Great Depression.

The vote was 56 to 42, with Democrats once again falling short of the 60 votes needed to overcome the Republican filibuster and advance the measure. Democrats said they might keep the Senate in session through the night to dramatize the Republican opposition.

Read the rest here.