Re: Barron’s November 15 print edition:
I’ll never understand why Randall Forsyth’s typically excellent column is normally placed 4th, 5th or 6th in the magazine’s pecking-order. But, at least in this week’s print edition, Forsyth’s “Up and Down Wall Street” is the lead article. His opening salvo - “We Have Met the Inflation Enemy and it is Washington” - provides a glimpse into the column’s main menu (served up with an abundance of “tongue-in-cheek”).
I never recommend (and try not to flog) funds I own. But I’ll note that Michael Cuggino, manager of one of my longest held and largest holdings, receives some due attention from Forsyth this week. If you happen to own PRPFX, Cuggino’s comments will at least alert you to adjustments he’s made to the fund’s positioning.
Couple of Excerpts from the referenced column:
- “The bond and equity markets have not adequately priced in higher inflation, volatility, and higher interest rates,” warns Michael Cuggino, president and portfolio manager of the Permanent Portfolio funds. The Fed's insistence that inflation is transitory and will ease once supply-chain snafus are cleared up is being challenged as wage increases are built into businesses’ behavior, he adds.
- Cuggino says that the Permanent Portfolio was established in the early 1980s to preserve purchasing power from a diversified collection of U.S. stocks, fixed-income holdings, precious metals, and Swiss franc assets. Given the dim prospects he sees for bonds, the fund is overweight equities while keeping fixed income in high-quality, short-duration corporate bonds.
(The expressed views do not necessarily represent my own. Just sharing for what interest it may hold)
